Prophecy of War: Calm Before the Storm
by CloudtuftofStarClan
Summary: The four clans of the forest, MarshClan, StoneClan, BreezeClan, and SnowClan are on the brink of a devastating war. Four cats are destined to save the clans before they destroy themselves. The team begins to come together, unsure of what's about to happen.
1. Prologue - StarClan

"I fear for the clans." One tom meowed. "Lately they have been hateful towards each other." "That's been happening since the beginning. You act as if the clans have always gotten along." A second cat hissed. The tom rolled his eyes. "Rainstream, you know Owlfeather has a point." A dark gray she cat stepped forward. Rainstream rolled her eyes. "Thank you Duskstream. It's good to know someone agrees with me." Owlfeather told her. Duskstream nodded in agreement.

"I think they need our help. Perhaps we should send a prophecy." Owlfeather suggested. "To who? Who can we trust with this task?" Another tom, Tigertooth asked. "What if the clan leaders were in the prophecy?" Duskstream replied. "The leaders would never listen!" Rainstream said. "Then maybe the medicine cats." Owlfeather meowed. "They already have a close relationship with one another and would want peace among the clans the most." A fifth cat stepped in. "No. You have a point, but I think we should leave the leaders and the medicine cats out of this." Birchstar told the cats. "But why?" Owlfeather asked. "There will be fighting before there is peace. That is something we cannot stop and must accept. I believe we should pick four different cats. One from each clan. They will understand their roles and would want to stop the clans from going in an all out war." Birchstar explained. The other cats thought for a minute. "You have a point." Rainstream said. The other cats nodded.

"So who will we send the prophecy to?" Owlfeather asked. "I'll choose a cat for Breezeclan, since I was once a Breezeclan cat." Rainstream announced. "Very well. Do you have your choice?" Birchstar asked. "I'll pick Brightpaw." "An apprentice?" Owlfeather exclaimed. Rainstream nodded. "We need young cats. Old cats will do us no good." "Don't you think we should choose a more capable cat for the job? Brightpaw isn't the best apprentice in BreezeClan." Tigertooth pointed out. "Brightpaw might not be the strongest but she is the kindest!" Rainstream hissed. "She's exactly who this prophecy needs!" "Very well. Who's next?" Birchstar agreed. "Since we're choosing apprentices, I say Mousepaw should receive the message for SnowClan." Tigertooth told Birchstar. Duskstream shook her head. "The only reason you want Mousepaw to be apart of the prophecy is because he's your son." "Then who do you want? One of your sons?" Tigertooth retorted. "Nightpaw would be a good choice, actually." Birchstar spoke up. "He's the older out of your two sons, and the most skillful apprentice. He would make an excellent choice." Tigertooth scowled. "Fine. Nightpaw will be our pick." He growled. "How about MarshClan?" Birchstar turned to Owlfeather. "I'm choosing Robinpaw." "What is it with you toms and picking your sons?" Rainstream said, rolling her eyes. "Robinpaw will be a great warrior one day. I am choosing him for that reason. Not because he's my son." Owlfeather responded. "Birchstar, did you pick someone for StoneClan?" Duskstream asked the old leader. He nodded. "Graypaw is the clear choice. She's skilled and young." Rainstream nodded.

"We are putting the fate of the four clans in these young apprentices! Am I the only one who believes this is a horrible idea!" The cats turned to see a white tom walking over to them. "Mistsky, we have faith in them." Birchstar told him. Mistsky scoffed. "They're apprentices!" He hissed. "They barely qualify for this task." Rainstream sighed. "Maybe he's right. Maybe we are putting to much faith in these cats." The silver cat hung her head and shut her eyes, meditating on the thought. Owlfeather rose to his feet. The brown and white cat wasn't going to give up on the apprentices. "Mistsky, I know you have your doubts. But these cats are our best shot, whether you like to admit it or not." Mistsky looked down at his feet. "How can we be so sure they can do this?" He asked quietly. Birchstar looked at the warrior. "They have qualities that good warriors should have. Brightpaw shows much kindness to her clan mates and trains very hard. Robinpaw is very clever, always coming up with new moves and counter attacks. Nightpaw is a very strong apprentice and has the discipline of a warrior. And Graypaw is a natural born leader who shows potential. I'm sure you expected that from your great granddaughter after all, Mistsky." Birchstar meowed.

Mistsky looked at Birchstar. After a minute of thinking, he finally nodded his head in agreement. "Very well. I see now these cats are ready for this great burden." Birchstar was grateful that the stubborn warrior was able to see that these cats were capable. "It's time." The light brown tom meowed. "Let's just hope the apprentices think so too." Tigertooth muttered.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the epilogue. This is my first story, so it's not incredible. I'll probably have the next chapter up soon. If you have questions or want me to explain something, just ask! Also, if you want a quicker response, you can always ask on my Instagram. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Instagram - warriorcats. Cloudtuft**


	2. Chapter 1 - MarshClan

Robinpaw sat in the center of camp, next to his best friend, Silverpaw. He yawned. The MarshClan leader, Brindlestar, had called the cats to the High Hill, where all clan meetings and ceremonies were held. Today was Jaykit and Ravenkit's Apprentice Ceremony. Robinpaw yawned again. He desperately wanted to go and train. Silverpaw nudged him. "Shh. It's your brothers' special day." The silver she cat whispered to him. "Sorry, it's just that these meetings are kinda boring." He replied quietly.

"Lionclaw, you have proven yourself as a strong and loyal warrior." Robinpaw heard Brindlestar saying. "And I now ask you to pass down all you know to Jaypaw."

The big, golden tom nodded and walked over to Jaypaw. Jaypaw looked small compared to the big warrior. The two touched noses and Robinpaw could hear Lionclaw say, "I look forward to training you. I know you'll make a great warrior." Robinpaw's brother looked excited. He had been talking about it for the past few days. It was driving Robinpaw insane. Robinpaw couldn't help but smile when he saw his brother so happy.

"Ravenkit, from this day forward until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ravenpaw." The little black tom sat, shifting his paws.

"Aw, the poor fur ball is nervous." Robinpaw could hear Hawkpaw laugh loudly. He and Silverpaw rolled their eyes. Hawkpaw's mentor, Troutjaw shushed the young cat and Hawkpaw sulked, annoyed he had been scolded.

Robinpaw was so busy glaring at Hawkpaw he was missing the ceremony. "Heathercloud, I now ask you to pass down all that you know to this apprentice." A she cat with long white and gray fur stood up and walked over to Ravenpaw and they touched noses. Ravenpaw seemed to calm down a little bit. The clan began to cheer their names. "Jaypaw! Ravenpaw! Jaypaw! Ravenpaw!"

Some of the cats began walking over to the new apprentices to congratulate them. When the crowd began to disperse, Robinpaw and Silverpaw made their way over to them. "Congrats!" Silverpaw said cheerfully. "Thanks Silverpaw." Ravenpaw replied. "Congratulations you guys. I'm happy that we can train together now." Robinpaw told his brothers. Jaypaw nodded. "You won't be so happy when I start learning how to battle and I kick your butt." He taunted his older brother playfully. "Smart move. Taunt an apprentice who actually knows how to fight." Robinpaw said sarcastically. "Maybe not today, but one day I will beat you." Jaypaw laughed. Before Robinpaw could reply, their mother, Nightpool, padded over. "I'm so proud of you boys. You'll make great apprentices." She purred.

It made Robinpaw happy to see his mother like this. He knew she was still hurt about Owlfeather's death. Even Robinpaw was still upset about it. Owlfeather had never gotten to meet Jaypaw and Ravenpaw. "Can we explore the territory?" Ravenpaw asked Heathercloud. "Of course." She told her apprentice. "So will we." Lionclaw told Jaypaw. "Not together though. I want to show you the BreezeClan border first." Jaypaw and Ravenpaw looked disappointed, but shrugged it off. "Let's go!" Jaypaw dashed for the entrance.

"Wait up!" Lionclaw yelled, running after him. "No way! This is the best day of my life!" Robinpaw could faintly hear Jaypaw yell in the distance. Heathercloud laughed. "Don't run off like your brother." The new apprentice nodded and the two started to walk out of the camp.

Robinpaw watched them go. "How about we go fish?" Silverpaw suggested. Robinpaw nodded. They set off for Minnow Creek. It was a small river that separated MarshClan territory from BreezeClan's. The two apprentices sat down next to each other, their eyes on the rushing water. MarshClan's main source of food came from Minnow Creek and Marsh River. Robinpaw quickly caught a small fish. He set the fish down and thanked StarClan for the fresh fish. Silverpaw dropped her fish onto Robinpaw's. Pretty soon they had caught five fish between the two. Robinpaw grabbed his three fish while Silverpaw hesitated to grab her fish."I have to get a third one!" She exclaimed. "I'm not gonna let you have all the glory." She winked at the dark brown tom. Within seconds she scooped a small fish out of the river. "All done!" She said happily. Robinpaw chuckled as Silverpaw grabbed her three fish. The two headed for camp.

Robinpaw felt at home when he entered the camp. He saw Emberkit and Foxkit play fighting while their mother watched carefully, elders telling stories to Bouncekit and Ivykit, Frogleap sharing a fish with his mate, Blueflower, and the MarshClan medicine cat, Hollyshine, sorting her herbs. As the apprentices dropped their food off, Robinpaw's mentor approached. "Hey, Runningfire." Robinpaw greeted the MarshClan deputy. "I'm glad I found you, Robinpaw. I wanted to evaluate your combat skills." He smiled. Robinpaw's face lit up. This was his first evaluation! Maybe this meant he would become a warrior soon. He had been training for moons now, and he was more than ready to become a warrior. "Great!" Robinpaw replied, happily. "Silverpaw, I believe your mentor wanted to take you on the evening patrol. Why don't you grab a piece of fresh kill and rest up for it?" The deputy suggested to the silver apprentice. Silverpaw nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Runningfire." She turned to Robinpaw and wished him good luck before running off to eat with Pouncepaw.

Robinpaw followed his mentor out of camp to the Sandgrounds. It was a nice, sandy hollow that was perfect for combat practice. As they walked to the Sandgrounds, they talked. "Your brothers are apprentices now." He began. "We can practice with them one day." Robinpaw looked at his mentor and nodded. "I'm sure it would be fun." "I know you haven't really been able to hang out much since they've been stuck in camp and you've been busy with your apprentice duties, so I thought it would be a nice thing for you three." Runningfire explained. "Family is important, Robinpaw. You'll be there for them when they need it and they'll be there for you when you need help. I want you to have what I used to have when I was your age."

Robinpaw saw sadness and pain flash through his mentor's eyes. "Did you have a brother before?" Robinpaw asked, cautiously. He didn't want to upset Runningfire and bring up sad memories. But Runningfire did not seem upset at this question. He just nodded his head. "I had a brother once. We were very close to each other. When we became apprentices, we wanted to do everything together." Robinpaw watched his mentor flinch. "He died before he became a warrior. I was devastated. I had never felt so alone. So lost." Guilt flowed through every bone is Robinpaw's body. Why did he have to bring up his mentor's brother?

Runningfire took a breath and straightened up. "But I know he hunts with StarClan now. Death isn't the end, Robinpaw. It is a beginning." "Do you think about him?" Robinpaw asked. "Every day. When I wake up, I think about how he should be here with me, fighting and providing for the clan with me. But I know he watches over me and the rest of MarshClan." Runningfire meowed calmly. Robinpaw was impressed by the MarshClan deputy. Not alone had he opened up to him about his brother, but he looked even stronger to Robinpaw now. "I kinda know how you feel. I miss my father every day..." Robinpaw told him. Runningfire licked Robinpaw's ear. They had just arrived at the Sandgrounds. Both cats sat down. "Just like my brother watches over me, I know your father is watching over you now. He would be proud of you."

"Does it get easier?"

"What?"

"You know, accepting the death of a loved one?"

Runningfire shrugged. "As time goes on, we do come to accept our loved ones are gone. But remember, Robinpaw, they are never truly gone." Robinpaw nodded slowly. "Alright, it's time for you first evaluation. Let's begin." Runningfire announced, standing up. "Great!" Robinpaw jumped to his feet. Sand kicked up as he leapt to his feet. "Alright, run over there and then charge at me. I will be judging your posture and technique." Robinpaw ran to the other side of the hollow and prepared to charge. He scraped the ground with his paws. "Ready, go!" Runningfire yelled. Robinpaw charged at the reddish brown tom, claws sheathed. He leapt at Runningfire. The deputy dodged, but Robinpaw was prepared. He used his tail to adjust his direction and managed to pin down Runningfire. "Great job." Runningfire said as he got to his feet. "Again."

"Very good." Runningfire purred after hours of combat practice. Robinpaw took a deep breath. "Thanks. It's only because I have the best mentor training me." Robinpaw replied. "Trust me, I can only do so much. It comes down to what you put into it." Runningfire told his apprentice. "Ok, I'll admit it. I'm pretty good." Robinpaw said, shuffling his paws. "I wouldn't be surprised if you became one of the greatest warriors in MarshClan. Of course, you have far to go to achieve that goal, but one day, with enough passion and hard work, you could be." Robinpaw nodded. "So, will you work hard to get there?" Runningfire asked, staring hard at his apprentice. "I will give it my all to become the best warrior I can be." "Great! Let's head back to camp. You've done well today."

The two began to walk back to camp. Robinpaw sighed. Could he really become one of the greatest MarshClan warriors? It takes more than strength. _I need to be wise, patient, and brave_. Robinpaw thought to himself.

"What's eating you, kid?" Runningfire asked all of a sudden. "Huh?" "You've been acting weird since I gave you that pep talk." Robinpaw shrugged and stared down at his white paws. "It's just that, I'm great at fighting. But that's it. I'm not all that intelligent, I'm as brave as every other clan cat, and I'm not poetic like you!" Robinpaw exclaimed. His head hung low and his tail dropped as they walked. Runningfire licked Robinpaw's ear.

"You are smarter than you think. Remember that battle with SnowClan? Instead of charging head first at that big warrior, you faked him out and came from behind. He had no idea what hit him!" Runningfire told him. _Yeah, that is true_. Robinpaw thought. "And that also shows how brave you are. Any other apprentice would have ran right back to their mothers." Robinpaw shrugged. _I don't know about that last part, but I guess that does show my bravery._ Robinpaw admitted. "But I'm not poetic! I don't sound wise or anything!" Robinpaw blurted out. "I don't get it, Runningfire! You're young, but you always sound so calm. I thought old cats were supposed to be wise while younger ones were still getting there."

Runningfire started laughing. "It's not funny! I'm serious! How do you do it?" Robinpaw demanded. "I'm not poetic, Robinpaw. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I'm far from it, actually. I act like that because I don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of you. Ask any of the other warriors. They'll agree with me." "Huh, I guess that makes sense." Robinpaw muttered.

Suddenly, Runningfire stopped dead in his tracks. "What is it?" Robinpaw whispered, also stopping. "Use you nose." Runningfire whispered back. Robinpaw started trying to find a scent. His nose wrinkled when he smelled the disgusting scent of SnowClan. "SnowClan. And it's a new scent." Robinpaw told his mentor. "They're close." Runningfire said. "Robinpaw, run back to camp for reinforcements. Go, quickly!" Robinpaw nodded and darted towards the MarshClan camp. In no time, he had arrived at the entrance. He stood trying to catch his breath.

"Robinpaw? What's going on?" Frogleap demanded. Taking a deep breath, he finally found the words to say. "Runningfire and I scented SnowClan in our territory. He sent me for backup." "I'll go." Reedstrike suggested, already heading out of the camp. He was a new warrior, but he was always ready to help his clan out.

"No!" Brindlestar called, making Reedstrike stop. "What? Runningfire needs help!" Robinpaw exclaimed. How could his leader stop cats from going to help the deputy? "SnowClan is not on territory. At least, we don't know for sure." The leader replied, emotionless. "But they could be! How could you not send help?!" Robinpaw spat, his fur bristling."Watch your mouth, apprentice. I'm in charge." Brindlestar snapped, heading for her den. "Even if there's a slight chance of invaders, we should take that seriously!" Robinpaw growled.

Robinpaw turned to see the MarshClan deputy running back to camp. Robinpaw gasped when he saw his mentor with several claw marks. Runningfire's leg was incredibly injured and he was out of breath. "SnowClan, attacked." He breathes heavily. Several cats gasped. "Are they still there?" Pouncepaw asked. Runningfire shook his head. "I chased the three of them off. They were stealing prey." The deputy's legs started shaking, as if he was going to collapse. "Somebody fetch Hollyshine!" A cat yelled. "Already here!" The medicine cat replied, with herbs and cobwebs in her mouth. "You took on three cats?" Emberkit asked the deputy, eyes wide. Runningfire nodded. "It was difficult with no one with me, but I managed." He flinched as Hollyshine tended to his wounds. "Frogleap, Lionclaw, come with me. Let's make sure those fleabags are gone." Reedstrike said, already running out of camp. "Young cats. They think they're the leaders of StarClan!" Loud slip, an elder, said.

"I'm so sorry, Runningfire! I came back here, but Brindlestar wouldn't let cats go and help you and I..." Robinpaw said quickly. "It's... Not your... Fault, Robinpaw..." Runningfire's voice started growing weaker. "Don't talk. You need your strength." Hollyshine told the deputy quietly. But it didn't work. The deputy's eyes started to close. Robinpaw watched in horror as his mentor passed out. _StarClan, don't let him join you yet_! He thought.

Sorry if the first few chapters are a little boring. I am trying to set up the story and several characters, so it can be kinda boring. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you have questions or want me to explain something, don't be afraid to ask. Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be out soon!


	3. Chapter 2 - StoneClan

Graypaw yawned, her eyes still shut. She was half asleep, laying in her bed. The gray apprentice slowly got up and stretched, her eyes still shut.

"Oh great! You're up!" Berrypaw padded into the den, facing Graypaw. "Just got up." Graypaw replied, shaking her pelt out. "Did you need me?" Berrypaw nodded. "Snowflower wanted me to go hunting and take another apprentice. I was hoping you would come with me." The she-cat explained. "Sure. I'm ready." Graypaw followed her friend out of the den. She was hit with a gust of cold air that made her shiver. "Man, it's pretty cold this morning." Graypaw admitted. "Yeah, leaf-bare is coming pretty soon." Berrypaw meowed. Graypaw groaned. "Who's excited for snow?" She said sarcastically. Berrypaw laughed. The two apprentices headed out of the camp.

"So, where are we hunting?" Graypaw asked. "Snowflower said to try by the Moss Tree." "Alright then, let's get moving." Graypaw and Berrypaw said good morning to the warrior sitting patrol at the entrance of the StoneClan camp. Then they made their way to the Moss Tree.

Graypaw walked back to camp holding two mice in her mouth. Berrypaw's hunting trip had been cut short. She was chasing a rabbit and it managed to escape in a rabbit hole. Berrypaw couldn't stop fast enough and face planted into a tree and ended up with a bloody nose and a torn claw.

Graypaw placed her mice in the fresh kill pile and headed over to the medicine cat's den. It was towards the back of StoneClan's camp, next to the High Boulder, where all clan meetings were held. She saw Berrypaw laying down, eating a starling with cobwebs on her muzzle. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Graypaw asked, padding up to her friend. "Better." Berrypaw replied, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Sandpelt says I'll be better by tomorrow. I'll be sore, but I'll get through it." At that moment, Sandpelt padded over to the apprentices. She was a young, beautiful medicine cat. Her sand-colored pelt looked even prettier in the sun. "Good afternoon, Graypaw." She said with a smile. "Hey, Sandpelt. I was just checking on Berrypaw." Graypaw told her. Sandpelt nodded. "Stay as long as you like." The medicine cat turned around to sort her herbs. "I'm glad your injury isn't bad. Well, it's bad, but it could have been worse." Graypaw said, sitting down. Berrypaw sat up. "Yeah. I would have been upset if I had to take a break from training. I'll be a warrior soon, after all." Graypaw hadn't thought of it. Berrypaw was one of the oldest apprentices, along with her sister, Hazelpaw. Graypaw was the youngest, but she had still been training for several moons.

"Did your mentor tell you anything about your ceremony yet?" Graypaw asked. Berrypaw shook her head. "We've been having a few assessments, but that's it." Berrypaw sounded a little disappointed. "Maybe Snowflower wants to keep it a secret." Graypaw tried to sound hopeful. Berrypaw shrugged. "Maybe. Anyway, I'm probably going to take a nap soon." "I'll leave now, maybe Webstripe will take me hunting or something." Graypaw got to her feet. "I'll see you later." Berrypaw said, shutting her eyes.

Graypaw turned to leave, but was stopped by Sandpelt. "Graypaw, would you mind coming herb gathering with me? I'm running a little low on some supplies, and I want to get it before the cold season comes." Sandpelt meowed. "Of course." Graypaw smiled. "Let's get another apprentice to come with us. I believe Stormpaw is resting in the apprentice den." Graypaw groaned. Not Stormpaw. He was such a hot shot. He bragged, bossed the other apprentices around, and was just a nuisance. Stormpaw was the last cat she wanted to go with! "Can we get Hazelpaw? Stormpaw is annoying." Graypaw begged. Sandpelt shook her head. "Hazelpaw is on a patrol."

"What about Eaglepaw?"

"Hunting with his mentor."

"Great."

"Stormpaw might not be your favorite cat, but it won't be that bad. I promise." Sandpelt told her. "I'll go get him." The medicine cat headed towards the apprentice den and went inside. When she came outside, she was followed by a gray tom. Graypaw jogged over to them, even though she'd rather claw out her fur. "Ready?" Sandpelt asked. "I guess." Graypaw mumbled. "Alright, let's get going."

They had just left the camp and Graypaw already wanted to claw her ears out. "So, how do you feel? You know, going herb hunting with the hottest tom in StoneClan?" Stormpaw asked, raising one of his eyebrows and then winked. Graypaw scoffed. "Sandpelt, how long will this take?" She asked. "Depends on how long it takes to find them and how much there is. If there's not a lot, we'll have to keep searching. We need to get them before the frost kills it." Sandpelt replied. "What are we getting?" Stormpaw asked. "Catmint, goldenrod, and maybe some watermint if we're lucky. I'm low on all three of them." Sandpelt told the apprentices. "I'm glad you're not training to be a medicine cat. You're too pretty to waste." Stormpaw meowed to Graypaw. Graypaw glared at him. "What? It's true! You're gorgeous and should have a mate and kits one day." Stormpaw told her. "Sandpelt, can we hurry up?" Graypaw pleaded. "Hey! I'm just trying to have a conversation!" Stormpaw exclaimed. "And I'm trying not to." Graypaw growled. She turned her head in the other direction so she wouldn't have to see his face.

"Alright, there's usually some watermint over here." Sandpelt told the apprentices. "Is that it?" Graypaw pointed to a plant. "Yes! Good eyes, Graypaw." Sandpelt padded over to it and began to gather it. "Not as much as I had hoped, but every little bit counts." She purred. "Stormpaw, I think you can manage all of this by yourself. Just set it down gently in the den. And don't you dare destroy any of it! There's not a lot and we'll need all of it." Sandpelt warned the tom. Stormpaw nodded and grabbed the medicine in his mouth. "I'll be careful." He promised, the watermint muffling his meows.

Graypaw was happy to see him leave. "Good riddance." She muttered. "Why do you hate him so much?" Sandpelt asked. "How can you not?" Graypaw hissed, clawing the ground. "He's so obnoxious and rude!" "I know that. But you're strong enough to put up with him." Graypaw shrugged. "Why don't you get to know him better?" Graypaw almost fell over when she heard Sandpelt say this. "Are you kidding? I hate him!" Graypaw said in awe. "I know, but if you got to know him, he might warm up to you." Sandpelt explained. "No way! Not happening, not a chance!" Graypaw insisted. Sandpelt sighed. "I see you're as stubborn as your father." "I wouldn't really know that. He's never really around." Graypaw sighed, sadly. Her father, Stonefoot, was always busy. He was a great warrior, one of the best in StoneClan, so he was always given jobs. And between Graypaw's schedule as an apprentice, the two never saw each other much.

"Your father has a lot on his shoulders. One day he will make it up to you." Sandpelt reassured her. She put her tail on Graypaw's shoulder. "I don't know." Graypaw murmured. "Let's get going. We still have to get catmint and goldenrod, and those are essential." Graypaw nodded and followed the medicine cat.

"Thanks for all your help, Graypaw. You too, Stormpaw." Sandpelt purred. The moon was high in the sky. Sandpelt yawned. "You too should grab some food and then get some sleep. You'll need it with leaf-bare on the way." Graypaw nodded and padded towards the fresh kill pile. Graypaw didn't care to wait for Stormpaw. She picked out a black bird and quickly began eating. She was hungry after running all over the territory looking for Sandpelt's herbs. She watched as Eaglepaw and Hazelpaw return from a patrol with their mentors. They jogged over to the pile and picked out their fresh kill. The apprentices sat next to Graypaw. "Hey, Graypaw!" Hazelpaw purred as she set down her mouse. "What's up girl?" Eaglepaw joked. "We got back from patrol. What about you?" Hazelpaw asked. "Sandpelt asked me to go with her to get some medicine. And she made Stormpaw go with us." Graypaw sighed. "I don't get why you don't like him. He seems alright to me." Eaglepaw admitted. "You're a guy. He would act completely different around you." Hazelpaw playfully pushed him a little with her paw.

"So, how bad was it?" Hazelpaw turned to Graypaw. Graypaw shrugged. "I don't know. It was alright. He was annoying at first but then he left for a while. When he came back, he didn't really talk to me." Graypaw replied. "Then Sandpelt said I should get to know him better." "You should! Like I said, he's not that bad." Eaglepaw encouraged. "I don't even know where he went. I ditched him in the medicine cat den." Graypaw said. "I see him over there." Hazelpaw pointed to the gray tom. He sat all alone, eating a mouse. He glanced up and saw Hazelpaw point to him. Stormpaw looked away, looking sad. "What's wrong with him? He always acts like he owns everything." Graypaw meowed. "I don't think he has one true friend. I mean, Eaglepaw hangs out with him a little, but Berrypaw and I don't. And you make it obvious that you hate his guts." Hazelpaw replied. "Poor guy. I'd go sit with him, but I don't want to make him feel weird." Eaglepaw said. "I'm not talking to him. Whenever he opens his mouth, I feel like I catch his stupidity." Graypaw stood up and headed towards the apprentices den. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." She said. Her friends said goodnight to her and she padded into the den. Why should she feel bad for Stormpaw?

 **Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading in Graypaw's POV. I wonder what's wrong with Stormpaw. I mean, those comments during their trip were just rude. Do you think Graypaw will talk to him, or continue to ignore him? Sorry that this chapter is much shorter than the last one.** **Once again, the first four chapters are going to be boring since I am trying to introduce characters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If you have suggestions, tips, questions, or want me to explain something, don't be afraid to contact me! Next chapter will probably be out tomorrow!**


	4. Chapter 3 - SnowClan

Nightpaw walked into the SnowClan camp with a small mouse in his mouth. He set it down in the fresh kill pile. The only other prey in the pile was a blackbird and a scrawny shrew. SnowClan was going through rough times at the moment. Prey was scarce and the clan didn't have many warriors, or cats, in general. There were only four apprentices and one kit in the nursery. Their last leader, Clawstar, died two moons ago. He was a popular leader, and his death left many cats upset and worried about the future of their clan. Nightpaw was fond of the old leader. He had lived a long life, and lead his clan with passion. His was strong, wise, and intimidating.

SnowClan's new leader, Owlstar, called for a clan meeting. Nightpaw jogged over to sit with his best friend, Mousepaw. "As most of you know, it has been very hard to find prey lately." Owlstar began. "With leaf-bare approaching, there will be even less prey running around." "Are we going to starve?" Waspstrike demanded. "I will never let my clan starve!" Owlstar responded. "So what's our plan?" Scorchfur demanded. "Do enlighten us, oh great leader." Darksky challenged.

Owlstar had only been leader for two moons, and he was still learning. Some of the warriors thought he was too young for the job, but Nightpaw felt like he was doing alright. The clan was suffering even before Owlstar's reign. "We will need to find better places to hunt. The Gathering is in a few days. At the Gathering I will attempt to make a deal with StoneClan for some of their territory." Owlstar announced. "Pfft. That won't work. StoneClan is full of stuck up cats." Nightpaw muttered. Apparently Spiderfang heard his remark and glared at him. Nightpaw didn't care. Spiderfang was the deputy of SnowClan. She was also young, but Nightpaw didn't like her. She was always bossing him around and wasn't polite or caring.

"That's a terrible plan!" Icestorm exclaimed. "Why do we need to ask? Why not steal prey?" Blackheart demanded. "No! SnowClan will not stoop that low. Any cat caught stealing prey will be punished." Owlstar snapped. Nightpaw understood why Owlstar wouldn't want conflict with the other clans, but at the same time, the others were right. Why not steal prey? He didn't see anything wrong with it. The other clans were doing alright, so why would they care about a few stolen prey?

"Owlstar, they have a point." Nightpaw called out. "Dude, don't say anything. You'll get in trouble!" Mousepaw whispered. Nightpaw didn't care. "The other clans would do the same. As a matter of fact, they have before. I don't see why SnowClan shouldn't." Nightpaw went on. Out of the corner of Nightpaw's eye, he saw the deputy growl.

"Enough!" Owlstar ordered. "SnowClan will not steal any prey from other clans. This meeting is over." Owlstar walked inside his den. The cats began to disperse.

Spiderfang padded over to Nightpaw and Mousepaw. "I'm not happy, Nightpaw." Spiderfang meowed. "You were very rude to Owlstar. "When are you ever in a good mood?" Nightpaw rolled his eyes. "Oh StarClan." Mousepaw muttered. "Do you dare challenge your deputy?" Spiderfang growled, her black fur bristling. "Yeah, I dare!" Nightpaw snapped. Spiderfang really could get on someone's nerves. "I am your deputy. You should respect me and your leader." Spiderfang told him. "Just because you have a title doesn't mean you get my respect. You have to earn it." Nightpaw replied. Spiderfang's clawed the ground. "If you carry on with this attitude, I'll make sure you never become a warrior." Spiderfang vowed. Hearing this, Nightpaw forced himself to keep back his comments.

Nightpaw and his brother, Thistlepaw, were the oldest apprentices in the clan. They were so close to becoming warriors. Spiderfang wasn't going to change that. "I will come up with a punishment for you later. Right now, go hunt for your clan. You too, Mousepaw." Spiderfang padded away. "Nice job, mouse brain." Mousepaw told his friend.

"I don't know how they expect us to find prey. There's nothing here." Mousepaw complained. The two had left to hunt a while ago and managed to find nothing. Nightpaw was tired of running around, but he knew he couldn't go back to camp empty handed. Spiderfang would claw his eyes out if he did. "I've got an idea." Nightpaw meowed. "What?" Mousepaw asked. "Follow me." Nightpaw set off. Soon, the two found themselves on the StoneClan border.

"We're stealing prey?" Mousepaw exclaimed. "Shut it! Why would you say it so loud?!" Nightpaw replied quickly. "Owlstar said we shouldn't steal prey!" Mousepaw said quietly. "We have to feed our clan! This is the only way to do it!" Nightpaw declared. "Now come on, let's do this as fast as we can." Mousepaw hesitated, but soon followed his friend across the border. Nightpaw's nose wrinkled. StoneClan's scent bothered him. There were more trees in StoneClan's territory. emAnd more prey/em. Nightpaw thought. Within minutes, the two had managed to catch two squirrels and a rabbit.

"See? We did good work." Nightpaw purred. "This isn't our prey though." Mousepaw said. "Doesn't matter. We're helping our clan. That's all that matters, okay?" Nightpaw meowed. "Alright, I guess you're right." Mousepaw admitted. They returned to camp and set their catches in the pile. Nightpaw was happy to see Spiderfang sitting close by, clearly unhappy that Nightpaw had done so well. emShe'll have a hard time convincing Owlstar that I'm not ready to be a warrior now/em. Nightpaw thought. "Well, I'm going to see if I can do some combat practice. See you later." Mousepaw ran off.

Nightpaw headed back out of the camp. He started towards the MarshClan border. emMaybe I can find prey around here./em Nightpaw thought. He felt a little guilty for stealing StoneClan's prey, but he shook the feeling away. emThey didn't need it./em Nightpaw told himself. Nightpaw scented the air for prey. He heard a bush rattle and decided to hide behind a tree.

Surprisingly, he saw Blackheart, Thistlepaw, and Darksky walk out with prey in their mouths. emThey stole it from MarshClan! /emNightpaw thought. "I thought you said there were no cats around!" Blackheart snapped at Darksky. "Now they're deputy knows what we did!" "I'm sorry. But it doesn't matter. They don't know who did it. Besides, we almost killed him. He might be dead now."

Nightpaw almost fell over. He and Mousepaw may have taken prey, but at least they had done it quickly and quietly! They probably killed MarshClan's deputy!

"Whatever. Let's get back to camp." Blackheart ordered. Nightpaw couldn't believe Thistlepaw would go with Blackheart and Darksky. What would their mother have said about this?

Blackheart's name suited him. He loved no one and no one loved him back. And Darksky wasn't great either. He hated Owlstar and almost everyone else. How could Thistlepaw think to hang out with them? Nightpaw had to spend time with Blackheart because he was his mentor. If he wasn't obligated to train with him, he would never go near the warrior. Nightpaw watched the three of them go. When he knew they were gone, he headed back for camp. It was late, and Nightpaw knew he wouldn't find anymore prey around.

Nightpaw walked into the apprentice's den. Only Thistlepaw was inside. Nightpaw sat down in his nest. "Hey." He meowed. "What's up?" Thistlepaw responded. Should Nightpaw ask Thistlepaw about today? He didn't want to, but he wanted to know more. "I saw you cross the MarshClan border with Blackheart and Darksky. Care to explain?" Nightpaw said. Thistlepaw sat up. "You know?" He demanded. "Yeah, I do. I also heard you fought the MarshClan deputy." Nightpaw said. "You can't tell anyone." Thistlepaw told his brother. "Why would you want to hang out with Blackheart?" Nightpaw asked. "He's not that bad. I like him." Thistlepaw shrugged. Nightpaw stared at his brother, knowing that there was more to the story.

"Alright, fine! Blackheart wanted to get to know me better. I don't know why. He said something about making me a better warrior." Thistlepaw admitted. "He's not even your mentor! He's my mentor!" Nightpaw exclaimed. "He called it extra training. I'm sure if I talked to him about it he'd let you join us." Thistlepaw suggested. "When do you do it?" Nightpaw asked curiously. "Well, if he lets you join us, then you'll know." Thistlepaw laid down and shut his eyes. "You won't tell me?" Nightpaw meowed. "Blackheart told me not to tell anyone about it. Sorry." Thistlepaw rolled over in his bed. His back was now facing Nightpaw. emWell I guess that means we're done talking/em. Nightpaw thought. The black tom yawned and crawled into his nest. He laid down, but he couldn't fall asleep. What was Blackheart up to? Nightpaw decided to think about it tomorrow. He shut his eyes and eventually fell asleep.

 **I hope you all enjoyed the third chapter! What do you think Blackheart is doing? Do you think SnowClan will survive? If you have suggestions, questions, or want me to explain something, send me a message. Reviews are greatly appreciated. They let me know what you guys think of the series and what I can approve on. Next chapter will be out soon! Hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 4 - BreezeClan

Brightpaw padded out of the BreezeClan camp. She had to get new bedding for the elders. Brightpaw made her way to BreezeClan's side of the Minnow Creek. It was a perfect place to gather moss for the elders. As the youngest apprentice, she got the role of taking care of the elders the most. emI can't wait until I'm a warrior. Then I don't have to do this job all the time/em. Brightpaw thought. She didn't complain when she got it, but she would rather work on her fighting skills. Brightpaw wasn't great at fighting, and she wanted to practice it whenever she could.

Sadly, the only apprentice she was friends with was Daisypaw, who was training to be a medicine cat. The rest of the apprentices were guys and didn't talk to her much. Brightpaw was happy that they didn't say much to her. Whenever Redpaw and Volepaw talked to her, they ganged up on her and made fun of her because she wasn't a great fighter. Acornpaw was nicer. Though he didn't talk to her much, he never insulted her or laughed at her.

Brightpaw grabbed as much moss as she could. She carried it in her mouth, on her back, and she carried a little with her tail. Brightpaw carefully headed back to camp, balancing the moss so it wouldn't fall off. "Good morning, Brightpaw!" The sentry, Pebblesplash greeted her cheerfully. "Need any help?" Brightpaw shook her head. If Redpaw and Volepaw saw her take help, they would never stop talking about it. They would taunt her saying she was a weak, helpless kit.

The two sat together, sharing a rabbit. Brightpaw didn't look at them as she walked passed them. "Hey! Need any help, princess?" Redpaw smirked. Brightpaw rolled her eyes.

Brightpaw wanted to burst into flames when she tripped on a rock and fell. The moss flew everywhere. Redpaw and Volepaw burst into laughing. Brightpaw's face was burning with embarrassment. Moss slipped over her watery eyes. Suddenly, the moss was lifted off of her face. She saw Acornpaw helping her up. "Ignore 'em. They're just jerks." Acornpaw meowed as Brightpaw got to her feet. "Thanks." She mumbled. "Here, I'll help you carry it." He offered. Brightpaw hesitated, but accepted the offer. She and Acornpaw began to gather the moss.

"Hey Acornpaw!" Brightpaw heard Volepaw call. One of his bottom teeth stuck out of his mouth, affecting his voice a little. During his first battle, he was hit in the mouth and the tooth poked out. Somehow, he found the injury cool. "Why are you helping the kit?" He asked, making Redpaw laugh. "Shut it already! You guys are going to be warriors soon, right?" Acornpaw replied. The two apprentices nodded. "Then act like warriors. You're supposed to help your clan mates! Not tear them down to make you feel better about yourselves!" Acornpaw spat. Brightpaw was shocked. He hadn't done this before.

Redpaw got to his feet and padded over. "What are you gonna do about it, punk?" He taunted, jabbing him in the chest with a paw. Redpaw was much bigger than Acornpaw. Were they going to fight? Acornpaw hissed at him. "You want a fight? I'll fight you!" Acornpaw shouted, unsheathing his claws. Redpaw unsheathed his and jumped onto the brown apprentice. Brightpaw gasped. "Stop guys!" She yelled. Acornpaw slashed at Redpaw's ear, leaving a knick in it. Redpaw cried out in pain. He dealt a powerful blow to Acornpaw's head. Acornpaw was dizzy for a second. Before he could snap out of it, Redpaw pinned him down. "I'll show you, punk!" He yelled.

Brightpaw tackled Redpaw. Acornpaw slowly got up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Volepaw charge at Acornpaw. She turned to help, but Redpaw scratched her leg. "Ow!" She cried. Redpaw jumped at her, but Brightpaw ducked. He turned to jump at her again, but Brightpaw took off running towards Volepaw. He was busy dodging Acornpaw's claws. Brightpaw jumped over Volepaw. Redpaw was running too fast to stop. He ended up crashing into his friend, knocking both of them down. Acornpaw ran over to Brightpaw. "Are you okay?" He asked, catching his breath. Brightpaw nodded.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The scream was loud enough to scare Brightpaw out of her pelt. She turned to see Coldstar standing behind her and Acornpaw. He did not look pleased.

The four apprentices stood in a line in front of Coldstar and Cloudwing, the deputy. "I am extremely disappointed in you four. Not only bullying your clan mates," Coldstar shot a glare at Redpaw and Volepaw. They flinched hearing him. "But starting a fight!" Coldstar hissed. "You are clan mates. You should respect one another! You don't have to love each other, but respect one another." Coldstar slashed at the ground. Grass flew in the air.

"Coldstar," Acornpaw began. "I am worthy of my punishment. Redpaw and Volepaw too. But Brightpaw doesn't deserve to join us. They laughed at her and taunted her. And she didn't start the fight. She shouldn't be blamed." Brightpaw was surprised. Acornpaw wasn't bargaining to save his own skin. He was trying to save her from a punishment. And one of Coldstar's! He was known to give some of the harshest punishments.

"I respect your nobility, but Brightpaw still engaged in the fight. She too will be punished." Coldstar replied, his anger lessening. Brightpaw had expected it. "So what's our punishment?" Redpaw demanded. "Redpaw, after that escapade you should keep your mouth shut and respect your leader." Cloudwing silenced the apprentice. "In three days, I will evaluate your skills as an apprentice." Coldstar began. "Pass the test, and you will be able to carry on with your apprenticeship. But if you fail," Coldstar paced in front of the apprentices. "You will remain as an apprentice for many moons to come." Brightpaw's heart sunk. How was she going to pass?

Brightpaw was busy trying to hunt in the territory. After hours of hunting, she had only caught two mice. She sat down on a rock and sighed, her head hanging low. emI'll be an apprentice for the rest of my life. /emShe thought. "Hey, Brightpaw!" Brightpaw opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see Acornpaw. The light brown apprentice padded up to her. "I was looking for you." He purred. "You were?" Brightpaw asked. Acornpaw nodded. "I need a sparring partner. My mentor doesn't want me training with Redpaw and Volepaw. I don't either. So I was hoping to see if you want to train with me. I want to work on my combat skills before that assessment." He explained. Brightpaw nodded. "We should probably head to the Practice Plains." "Sure. Let's go."

Brightpaw dodged out of the way of Acornpaw's attack. "You know, you can't play defense the whole time, right?" He meowed, swiping a paw at her. Brightpaw ducked. "Why not?" Brightpaw asked. "Sometimes defense is the best offense." "Well, yeah, but you should practice attacking too. Coldstar will be judging that too."

Brightpaw clawed at the ground. "I can't attack though! I'm not good at it! Not matter how much I practice, I never get better!" Brightpaw hissed. "I can help you." Acornpaw offered. Brightpaw calmed down a little. She was embarrassed that she had an outburst like that. "I'm sorry, Acornpaw. I didn't mean to be a jerk like that." She said quietly. Acornpaw licked her ear and sat next to her. "Don't worry. You have over two days left to get better. I'm going to help you with your attacks too. I know that you'll do fine." "Thanks, Acornpaw. For sticking up for me, cheering me up, and now helping me out." Brightpaw meowed. "Any good warrior would do it. And that's what I want to be. I hope one day to be a great warrior for my clan." Acornpaw replied. "Now, let's get back to work. I'll show you the basics. Unsheathe your claws." He said, standing up. Brightpaw stood up and unsheathed her claws. "Okay, now what?" She asked.

"Scratch me."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Scratch me."

"But, why?" "I need to see how bad it is.

"Alright."

"Brightpaw scratched the apprentice. "You're not putting enough energy into it." Acornpaw said. He was right. Her scratch barely left a mark. Brightpaw nodded and tried again. "Better. Again." The two continued at it for a while. By the end, Acornpaw was bleeding from a scratch on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "It's fine. I'm just happy to see you're getting better." Acornpaw purred as they headed towards the medicine cat den. "But tomorrow, we'll practice on a tree." He laughed. Brightpaw giggled.

"What in StarClan happened? Was that from the fight before?" Lakebreeze, the medicine cat, asked. "I was helping Brightpaw with her training." Acornpaw explained. "It's not too bad, but I'll have to put something on it. We don't want any infections, now do we?" Lakebreeze walked into the back of the den, getting the herbs.

"Badgerkit? What are you doing here?" Brightpaw asked the black and white kit. "I'm just watching Lakebreeze work. It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Badgerkit meowed. "Hey, Brightpaw!" Brightpaw turned to see Daisypaw walk up to them. She was carrying juniper berries. "Can I help?" Badgerkit asked. Daisypaw shook her head. "Don't need any. I'm doing fine on my own." Daisypaw said. Brightpaw sensed jealousy and annoyance in her friend's I wonder why./em Brightpaw thought.

Lakebreeze began to take care of Acornpaw's scratch. "Can I put the cobwebs on?" Badgerkit asked. Lakebreeze nodded. Badgerkit's face lit up. Lakebreeze started to show him how to apply it on Acornpaw's shoulder. Daisypaw sat in the back of the den, clearly unhappy Badgerkit was getting attention. Brightpaw was going to go over to her, but Cloudwing stopped her. "You're on dawn patrol tomorrow." Brightpaw nodded. "Get some food and go to bed. You'll need your strength." Brightpaw hadn't realized that it was dark outside. She had spent so much time in the medicine cat den with her friends. Brightpaw quickly ate a mouse and went to bed.

 **Damn, Redpaw and Volepaw aren't very nice. Good thing that Acornpaw is. Do you think they'll fail their test or pass it? Thank you guys so much for 47 views! It doesn't sound like much, but to me it means a lot. I hope you guys enjoy the series. I promise it will get better from here. We've met all four main characters! Who's your favorite? If you have suggestions, questions, tips, or want me to explain something, I will totally respond! Also, reviews help me know that you guys like the series so far and can help me improve it. If you want me to review something, just tell me! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 5 - The StarClan Forest

Robinpaw sat next to his mentor. It had been three days since the attack and Runningfire was still hurt. Hollyshine said that he would live, but wouldn't be able to fight for a few days. Now, Runningfire was asleep in the medicine cat's den. Robinpaw blamed himself for his mentor. _If I had stayed, he wouldn't be this hurt_. Robinpaw thought.

"What are you still doing in here?" Hollyshine muttered as she walked into the den. Robinpaw didn't answer. "He's going to live. You being here isn't doing anyone any good." She went on and she organized herbs. Robinpaw sighed. He knew she was right. "I know what you're thinking. You think it's your fault." Hollyshine meowed. "But it's not. You did what you should have done."

"Thanks, Hollyshine." Robinpaw replied politely. "Of course." The medicine cat sat down next to the apprentice. "You're a good cat, Robinpaw. You'll make a fine warrior one day." She put her tail on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?" Robinpaw tilted his head. "I wasn't in the fight, Hollyshine. I don't have any injuries." He said. Hollyshine sighed. "That's not what I meant. I meant what are you thinking, not how your body feels." "Well, I was thinking about Brindlestar." Robinpaw said as Hollyshine got up. "Do you know her well?" "In a way, yes. I've known her since I was a kit." Hollyshine replied. "I have a question about her." Robinpaw explained. "Alright, what's your question?" Hollyshine meowed.

"Why didn't Brindlestar let cats go to help?" Robinpaw asked. Hollyshine shrugged. "Brindlestar has always been, well, kind of strange with her choices. But I've never seen her do anything like that." Hollyshine told him. "I have to find out." Robinpaw got to his feet. "Good luck. I won't be surprised if you come back here. She'll rip your fur out if you make her angry." Hollyshine said as he walked out of the den. Robinpaw wasn't afraid. He wanted answers.

"Brindlestar?" He called at the entrance of the den. "Come in." The leader answered. Robinpaw slowly padded inside. "What is it, Robinpaw?" Brindlestar demanded. "I wanted to know something." Robinpaw replied. "Well spit it out then." Brindlestar grew impatient. Robinpaw gulped.

"Why didn't you send a patrol to help Runningfire?"

"There was no proof of SnowClan cats on our territory."

"We scented them! Besides, we should have sent them, just in case!"

"I am the leader! You are just a mere apprentice! An apprentice who is in way over his head! Watch your tongue with me, Robinpaw."

"Sorry, Brindlestar. It's just that..."

"It's just _what_ , Robinpaw?!"

"Nothing."

"Good. Now, since Runningfire cannot teach you now, we will need to appoint you a new mentor." Brindlestar thought long and hard for a moment. "Me." She meowed. "You're going to mentor me?" Robinpaw asked, shocked. "Is there a problem?" "No, not at all. I wasn't expecting it, that's all." Brindlestar grinned. Robinpaw felt uneasy. Her smile was more malicious than cheery. "We'll start right now. You better be ready." "Of course, Brindlestar."

"Again!" Brindlestar snarled. "You'll amount to nothing at this rate!" Robinpaw was breathing heavy. Training with Brindlestar was way different than with Runningfire. Brindlestar put him down while Runningfire encouraged him. Runningfire was a lot safer too. Brindlestar believed that training with unsheathed claws was better than training with sheathed claws. She had clawed Robinpaw's head and blood slowly trickled down his face. His back leg hurt when he put pressure on it, so he had to limp. There was also a nasty scratch on his side and belly.

"Brindlestar, this is a little extreme." Robinpaw managed to get the words out. Brindlestar scoffed. "If this is hard, you'll never be a warrior!" She snapped. Robinpaw flinched. Blood from his head scar flowed into his eye, making his vision blurry and red. As Robinpaw rubbed his left eye, Brindlestar started to charge at him. Too afraid to move, Robinpaw stood still and took the hit. However, his body couldn't take the hit from his leader. Robinpaw blacked out.

Robinpaw slowly opened his eyes. He moaned as he tried to get up. His body was sore. _Where am I?_ He thought. Robinpaw found himself in the Sandgrounds, where he and Brindlestar had been training. Brindlestar was now gone and the whole forest seemed darker. The moon was high I the sky. "Hello, Robinpaw." Robinpaw whipped around to see a cat. "Who are you?" Robinpaw demanded. "My name is Finchbelly." The brown and white tom replied.

Robinpaw was surprised that the tom smelled like MarshClan. "I was MarshClan's last medicine cat." The cat said, as if he had read Robinpaw's mind. "Wait," Robinpaw meowed. "Does that mean I'm in StarClan?! Am I dead?!" He shrieked.

"You are not dead, at least, not yet. I do not know if you will die today." Finchbelly told him calmly. "I might die?!" Robinpaw cried. "Calm yourself, Robinpaw. While I cannot control who lives and who dies, I have faith Hollyshine will do her best. I did train her, after all." Finchbelly started to walk away. "Wait up! I'm not done with you yet!" Robinpaw yelled, racing after the StarClan cat. He found himself standing in the MarshClan camp with Finchbelly. "Why can't they see us?" Robinpaw asked. "You are walking through StarClan's Forest. You will return to your world if your body heals."

Robinpaw looked around. He saw his mangled body lying in the medicine cat den. Hollyshine was working like crazy, trying to save the apprentice's life. He saw Silverpaw, Jaypaw, and Ravenpaw sitting close by, all with sad and worried expressions on their faces. Robinpaw teared up, knowing that his best friend and brothers were suffering like this. He was surprised his mother was absent. _Maybe she is hunting._ He thought.

"Runningfire!" He yelled, racing towards the medicine cat den. He was sitting up, licking a scratch on his leg. "You're alive!" He exclaimed. His excitement died, knowing that his mentor could not hear him.

Robinpaw spotted Brindlestar sitting outside her den, eating a big fish. "Foxdung!" Robinpaw growled, walking towards her. "You did this! You made those I love worr about me and I might die! And you don't care!" Robinpaw slashed his claw at her, but it just phased through her. She felt nothing. Robinpaw's claws sunk into the moist ground. "Robinpaw, you must calm down." Finchbelly said. "How is she a leader? She's horrible! I almost _died_!" Robinpaw exclaimed.

"She was not always like this." Finchbelly sighed. "When she was younger, she was a great leader. Looking out for her clan and she lead her clan well. But then, she snapped for some reason. No cat really knows why." "Doesn't matter to me. She isn't fit to lead a clan anymore." Robinpaw muttered. He started walking away and sat in the middle of camp. A few minutes later, Finchbelly walked over.

"I have good news. Your breathing has stabilized. You'll wake up soon enough."

"Thanks, Finchbelly."

"I have something important to tell you."

"What is it?"

Robinpaw saw that the MarshClan camp faded. He was surrounded by a million shooting stars. The scenery reflected into his and Finchbelly's eyes. "War will come. The forest will burn. Family will fall and foundations will shake." Finchbelly said. "What does that mean?" Robinpaw asked. But the medicine cat didn't reply. Finchbelly started to fade away. "No! Please! Finchbelly, tell me more! Tell me how to stop it!" Robinpaw pleaded. "The bird will see gray while the light and the dark tussle." Finchbelly meowed as his body faded into the stars. The shooting stars faded away, leaving Robinpaw in the forest. "The bird will see gray while the light and dark tussle." Robinpaw repeated to himself.

 **Sorry the chapter was pretty short. But Runningfire is alright, Brindlestar is still a jerk, and Robinpaw can now walk through the StarClan Forest. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it. After the next three chapters, I won't be going in the order I have been doing. (Robinpaw, Graypaw, Nightpaw, Brightpaw). I feel that will be better for the story. Anyway, next chapter might come out tonight. If you have suggestions, tips, or questions, don't be afraid to ask. If you want me to check out one of your stories, do tell me!**


	7. Chapter 6 - Confronted

Graypaw padded into the camp, carefully carrying marigold in her mouth. Sandpelt had asked her to get some for her, and of course Graypaw agreed. She had grown fond of the medicine cat and liked to help her.

"Hey Graypaw!" Graypaw turned her head to see Ashkit racing up to her. She set her marigold down to talk to her brother. Graypaw was the only kit in her litter, but her parents had another litter. Graypaw now had three brothers, Ashkit, Beetlekit, and Antkit. "Hey Ashkit! Where's Antkit and Beetlekit?" Graypaw purred. "They're playing Warrior over there." Ashkit told her.

"You don't want to play with them?"

"They play kinda rough."

"That makes sense."

"The only thing is that I'm bored."

"Why don't you ask the elders for a story?"

"I've heard them all."

"Okay then. Tell me your favorite one."

Ashkit's face lit up. "Frecklepelt told me about Cloudstar! That's my favorite one!" Graypaw purred hearing her brother talk. "That was my favorite story too." "It's real right?" Ashkit asked. "Of course! Why would you think it isn't?" Graypaw wanted to know. "Well, Beetlekit says he wasn't real, just because it was a long time ago and he could just be made up." Ashkit sounded disappointed. "Cloudstar is as real as StarClan, Ashkit." Graypaw meowed.

Ashkit looked at the marigold at Graypaw's feet. "What's that?" He asked curiously. "Marigold. Sandpelt asked me to get some for her." Graypaw explained. "She's the medicine cat, right?" Graypaw nodded. "I'd better get these to her." Graypaw started to grab the herbs. "Can I help?" Ashkit asked excitedly. "Sure." Graypaw passed some of the marigold to her brother. "Carry it like I am." Ashkit nodded and grabbed the marigold. He followed his sister to the medicine cat den.

"Oh, Graypaw! Thank you for getting the marigold for me!" Sandpelt greeted them. "No problem!" The gray she-cat replied. "You too, Ashkit." "You're welcome." Ashkit purred. "Can one of you help me sort these?" Sandpelt pointed to her herb pile. They were usually neat and tidy, but today they were disorganized. "Those damn kits. They ran in here and trampled my poor supplies. Thankfully only a few were damaged." Sandpelt meowed. "I'll help! Can I?" Ashkit exclaimed. "Of course. Follow me." Sandpelt led the gray kit to the back of the den.

"Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather beneath the High Boulder!" Graypaw heard Talonstar call. The dark gray tom stood tall on the High Boulder. Graypaw jogged to sit next to Hazelpaw, Berrypaw, and Eaglepaw. She couldn't help but notice Stormpaw sitting by himself.

"Our morning patrol scented SnowClan on our territory." Talonstar began. Howls of anger rose up from some of the cats.

"Those fleabags! I'll flay them!"

"SnowClan cats are always up to no good."

"How dare they steal our prey!"

Talonstar quieted them down. "I will not tolerate this! We will attack!" "Talonstar, that's a little silly." Sandpelt said, walking into the clearing. "And why is that?" Talonstar demanded. "There's no need to start a fight between us." Sandpelt argued. Talonstar clawed the rock. He forced himself to calm down. Graypaw knew that the leader was known for his bad temper.

"Does anyone else agree with Sandpelt?" Talonstar asked. The deputy, Thrushtail, spoke up. "Perhaps we should travel to their camp and work something out? If it doesn't work out, we could attack later on." "Very well. I will take a patrol with me to travel to the SnowClan base. I will have a word with Owlstar." Talonstar meowed. "Sandpelt, I want you to come. That way they no we mean no harm." Talonstar said. Sandpelt dipped her head out of respect. "Thrushtail, stay behind. Look after the camp while I'm gone." "Yes, Talonstar. I will do my best."

"I'll take Webstripe, Mudspot, Hazelpaw, and Graypaw." "Sweet! We get to go together!" Hazelpaw purred. "Lucky!" Eaglepaw moaned. Eaglepaw was always looking for an adventure. "We leave immediately. Thrushtail, organize a hunting patrol." Talonstar leapt down from the High Boulder. "I hope I go on the hunting patrol!" Eaglepaw told his friends. "Let's go." Hazelpaw said to Graypaw. As they started walking away, they heard Eaglepaw groan. He hadn't been picked for the patrol. Graypaw an Hazelpaw couldn't help but laugh.

The two joined Talonstar's party. "Remember, we are just going to talk." He told them as they headed out of the camp. "What do you think Owlstar will say?" Hazelpaw whispered to her friend. "Well he'd better apologize. They came onto our territory and stole our prey! Leaf-bare is coming and we'll need as much fresh kill as we can get." Graypaw meowed. "That's true. But what if they didn't steal anything?" Hazelpaw said. "What? Of course they stole our prey! Their disgusting, filthy scent is on our territory!" Graypaw exclaimed. Almost instantly, the scent of SnowClan entered Graypaw's nose. "Gross." She muttered.

"Graypaw, we're right by their border. How do we know the scent didn't get carried over by the wind?" Hazelpaw replied. "Why are you defending those weaklings? They totally did! Their clan is suffering, so they wouldn't care if they took our prey or not." Graypaw's fur started bristling. Why was Hazelpaw defending them? Hazelpaw sighed. "You're too stubborn to convince. We shouldn't be starting fights over stuff like this." Hazelpaw jogged ahead to talk to Mudspot.

The patrol of StoneClan cats padded over the border onto the SnowClan territory. "What if we run into a patrol?" Graypaw asked Webstripe, her mentor. "We will tell them to take us to Owlstar." Webstripe replied. "What if they refuse?" Graypaw meowed. "We will head there anyway. We came to speak with him, and that is what we are going to do." Webstripe said. Graypaw nodded and took a deep breath. "Relax. There's no need to worry about this." He put his tail on her shoulder. "Thanks, Webstripe." Graypaw smiled.

At that moment, Graypaw sensed two cats approaching. Almost instantly, two SnowClan cats, a small gray and white she cat and a big ginger tom came out from behind his bush. Graypaw instantly recognized Patchface. The SnowClan camp had been attacked by foxes, and Patchface's face had been mauled, leaving countless scars on it.

"Talonstar, what are you doing on our territory?" Patchface spoke calmly but strongly. "Patchface, we wish to speak with Owlstar." Talonstar replied. Patchface hesitated. Then he dipped his head. "Very well. Cinderpaw and I will take you to see him." Patchface muttered something to Cinderpaw and she nodded. "Cinderpaw will watch from behind." He told the StoneClan cats. Graypaw watched as the as the fluffy apprentice padded over to her.

"Hello." She greeted. "Hi, Cinderpaw. My name's Graypaw." Graypaw meowed politely. Patchface started leading the group. "So what are you guys going to say to Owlstar?" Cinderpaw asked curiously. "Well, some of our warriors scented SnowClan cats on our territory. Talonstar wants to speak with Owlstar about SnowClan stealing prey." Graypaw was expecting Cinderpaw to be offended or fight back but she didn't. "I'm not surprised. Some of the warriors suggested it to Owlstar." Cinderpaw sighed. "I hope that this doesn't get out of hand." Graypaw said. "That wouldn't be good. We would just be starting a war over a few pieces of prey. While my clan does need it, we need our warriors too and we can't afford to lose them in a fight." Cinderpaw agreed. Graypaw was starting to like this cat. Why couldn't Hazelpaw be more like her?

The cats finally entered the clearing. Immediately, the SnowClan cats were on the defensive. "Patchface, what is the meaning of this?" Spiderfang demanded. "Talonstar says that he wants a word with Owlstar." Patchface explained. Spiderfang lashed her tail. "Talonstar, couldn't this want until the Gathering? It is in a few days." She growled. "There is no need to act like a savage cat, Spiderfang. We did not come for a fight." Talonstar spoke sharply. Spiderfang hissed at him. Owlstar and the SnowClan medicine cat, Stumpyleg, walked over to them. "Calm down, Spiderfang. I will hear Talonstar out." Owlstar told Spiderfang. She immediately calmed down. _It's like watching a kittypet get scolded by a Twoleg._ Graypaw thought.

"Owlstar, it has come to my attention that your warriors have been on my territory, probably stealing our prey." Talonstar meowed. Several SnowClan cats yowled in anger and disagreement. "You must be mistaken. My warriors would never do this. I have made sure of it." Owlstar spoke calmly. "Foxdung!" Talonstar spat. "Your clan is in obvious trouble! Why should I take your word when the evidence is clear?" Owlstar's fur started bristling.

"I told my cats we will never steal prey from the other clans. Do not come here and tell me otherwise."

"It's clear that some of your cats don't like you. Why would they listen to you?"

"I promise you, my cats are innocent!"

"If I scent your cats on my territory again, there will be conflict between our clans. I would watch it, Owlstar, you're low on cats and I would love to lower your numbers."

Talonstar faced the rest of SnowClan. "Any cat caught on StoneClan territory will be killed on sight. Do not test me or my clan." Talonstar started to walk out of the clearing. Graypaw and the others followed. "Nightpaw, Blackheart, escort them off our territory." Owlstar ordered. Blackheart scoffed at his leader. He and Nightpaw followed the StoneClan cats.

"I told you they didn't steal prey." Hazelpaw whispered. "How do you know? You heard Talonstar. He said some warriors don't like him and they're desperate. They totally stole the prey." Graypaw forced herself to stay calm. "You're so difficult." Hazelpaw muttered. "I'm difficult? You're the one who is defending another clan!" Graypaw hissed. "That's what's wrong with the world! We're always against each other instead of working together!" Hazelpaw spat. Graypaw was surprised by her friend. They had been so close, and now Hazelpaw was acting so weird. She padded away to walk at the front of the patrol.

Graypaw turned to the SnowClan apprentice next to her. "You're quiet. I've seen you at Gatherings and you're never quiet." She meowed. "Just thinking." Nightpaw murmured. "About what? The prey being stolen?" Graypaw asked quietly. She didn't want to get him in trouble with the other SnowClan cat with them. Nightpaw nodded. Graypaw stared at the tom.

"I'm Graypaw, by the way." She said politely. "I'm Nightpaw, but not for long. I'll be a warrior soon." Nightpaw replied, straightening up. _Oh, so he's one of those toms. Stuck up and self-centered._ Graypaw thought.

Finally the StoneClan cats passed over the border. "Next time you have something stupid to complain about, wait until the Gathering." Blackheart growled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream about coming back here to see your pathetic clan." Mudspot snapped. Blackheart unsheathed his claws and sank them into the ground. "Keep your pelt on. We're leaving." Graypaw rolled her eyes. Nightpaw couldn't help but laugh a little. Blackheart glared at him, but Nightpaw didn't care.

Talonstar led his cats back to the camp. They were greeted by the rest of the clan. Talonstar called for a clan meeting and the cats gathered around. "We spoke to Owlstar. While they deny it, we are sure they stole our prey." Talonstar began. "If any SnowClan cat is found on our territory, kill them on sight."

"That's horrible! Why should we kill them?" Hazelpaw asked. Graypaw rolled her eyes. "They're breaking the code by being on our land and taking our prey! My word is the law!" Talonstar snapped. Graypaw couldn't help but smile. It made her feel good that she was embarrassed in front of the whole clan.

"The clan meeting is over!" Talonstar yelled, jumping down from the High Boulder. As the cats dispersed, Webstripe padded up to Graypaw. "Grab some food and call it a night. The two of us are on dawn patrol and I want to do some combat practice tomorrow." Webstripe meowed. Graypaw nodded. "Thank you, Webstripe." "You're a good apprentice. I've trained a couple of them, but you might be my favorite." Webstripe laughed. Graypaw smiled. They said goodbye and Graypaw went to go eat. She picked out a sparrow, quickly devouring it. Graypaw hadn't eaten in a while. The gray apprentice padded to the den and fell asleep in her nest.

"What the..." Graypaw muttered. She stood as a glowing figure over her sleeping body. "This is a crazy dream." Graypaw said to herself. At that moment, Eaglepaw walked in. He didn't see her and walked past her. "Weird." Graypaw said. "Greetings, Graypaw." Graypaw jumped hearing the voice. She turned to see a beautiful brown and white she cat standing outside the den. She glowed just like Graypaw. Graypaw walked up to the mysterious cat. "Uh, hi?" She said. The she cat purred.

"I am Riverleaf. I was a past StoneClan medicine cat." The she cat explained. "So, I'm dreaming, right?" Graypaw asked. Riverleaf shook her head. "Your body sleeps, but your spirit walks free in StarClan's domain." Riverleaf explained. "Woah! That's so cool!" Graypaw exclaimed. She scratched her head. "Uh, how do I do this? Like, come to this forest?" Graypaw asked. "Why can I do this, but no one else?" Riverleaf chuckled.

Suddenly, the StoneClan camp faded and a million shooting stars surrounded them, reflecting onto both cats' eyes. "Listen to me now, Graypaw. You are very special." Riverleaf said. "The bird will see gray while the light and dark tussle." Graypaw stared in awe. "I must leave you now, Graypaw. I will return to see you again one day." Riverleaf's beautiful body began to fade away. "Goodbye, Riverleaf." Graypaw whispered as she disappeared from sight and the forest returned.

 _Well, I'm clearly the gray part in that prophecy. But nothing else makes sense. The bird? The light and the dark?_ Graypaw thought. _Wait, how do I get out of here?_ Graypaw looked around. _Oh! I got an idea!_ Graypaw padded inside the den. She laid down on top of her body and her spirit returned to her body.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed! SnowClan was confronted, Graypaw can walk in the StarClan Forest, and she met Nightpaw. Not too bad. Do you think there will be a battle between StoneClan and SnowClan? Next chapter will be out when I finish writing it, so probably soon. If you have suggestions, tips, or questions don't be afraid to ask. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 7 - Shade

**Starrysong: Sorry I didn't respond sooner. My reviews were glitching out a bit. Anyway, my favorite character is either Nightpaw or Robinpaw. I love all four main cats, but I just have so much story planned out for these two alone that I'm so excited to write more in their POVs.**

Nightpaw slowly got out of his nest. It was the morning after the StoneClan cats visited. Nightpaw jogged over to Mousepaw. He was sitting right outside the den. "Hey." He greeted. Mousepaw stared at his friend. "Morning."

Nightpaw sighed. "Look," Nightpaw began. Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Spiderfang. "Nightpaw, stop sitting around and go hunting. You too Mousepaw!" She ordered, walking away. Nightpaw rolled his eyes.

"So, where do you want to hunt?" Nightpaw asked. "I don't know. But I know that you want to hunt on StoneClan's territory." Mousepaw said bitterly. "Look, I'm sorry I made you do that. I didn't mean for that to happen." Nightpaw apologized. "We just started conflict between us and StoneClan!" Mousepaw exclaimed. "Shh!" Nightpaw warned the light brown tom.

"If we hunt together, we are following my lead." Mousepaw said. "We're not breaking the code again." "I wasn't going to do it again! I feel bad about what happened!" Nightpaw insisted. Mousepaw sighed. "Let's just go, alright."

The two apprentices walked out of the camp. Before Nightpaw could ask where they were hunting, Mousepaw had already told him. "We're hunting by that old fox den. Maybe we can find a mouse or something." They searched everywhere around the fox den.

"Mousepaw, there's nothing here." Nightpaw meowed. "Maybe we should head back. We've been searching all day." "No! I'm not giving up, Nightpaw!" Mousepaw exclaimed.

"I'm not giving up, Mousepaw. I'm just accepting the fact that our mission is hopeless."

"We have to look harder!"

"Mousepaw, there's nothing here! Open your eyes!"

"I have to feed the clan and I will do it while I respect the code! Nightpaw flinched at his friend's words.

"Mousepaw,"

"No, Nightpaw! I'm not breaking the code again! I will search here until I find something!"

"And what if you don't?"

"Then I will die serving my clan and doing the right thing."

Nightpaw sighed. "I'm going to head back to camp. I'll help some other way." The black tom made his way back to camp. _Mousepaw is right. I shouldn't have stolen from StoneClan. I just wanted to help my clan._ Nightpaw stopped walking and sat down. _I started a fight with StoneClan. Now what?_ Nightpaw scratched a nearby rock out of frustration. He looked down at the ground.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Mousepaw." Nightpaw turned to see Blackheart standing behind him. "And I couldn't help but see you, Darksky, and Thistlepaw fight the MarshClan deputy and steal their prey." Nightpaw retorted. Blackheart glared at his apprentice.

"Ah, I see we both have the same, maniacal way of thinking. I fought MarshClan's deputy and you pissed off StoneClan. Exciting." Blackheart smiled. He slowly circled around the apprentice. "I didn't know you had that in you, Nightpaw. You used to be such a weak apprentice." Nightpaw couldn't help but remember his first days as an apprentice. They were horrible days. He was weak and small back then. In his first battle, he was easily crushed by a BreezeClan warrior. Some warriors thought he wouldn't make it as a warrior. That pushed Nightpaw to become stronger. He proved himself to his clan mates and eventually surpassed his brother's skills.

"Thistlepaw was telling me how I should let you train with us. You know, extra training?" Blackheart went on. "He told me about that. Not much, so you'd better fill me in." Nightpaw replied. "If you agree to it, I will let you join in on our sessions." Blackheart offered. Nightpaw thought about it for a moment. _I would get stronger, and I would find out what's really going on._ Nightpaw thought. "Deal."

"Marvelous! I will retrieve you when it is time." Blackheart started to walk away. Nightpaw watched him walk away. Then he headed back to camp. When he walked in, he saw Addertooth talking with Owlstar. She finally walked away, leaving a worried Owlstar.

"Owlstar? Are you alright?" Nightpaw asked. "Not really. Addertooth informed me of the dying plants in the Pine Grounds. It will most likely affect the prey that live there." Owlstar explained. "Are you still going to ask one of the clans for territory?" Nightpaw asked. Owlstar shrugged. "StoneClan would never give us land. BreezeClan isn't near us, so they're out of the questions. That leaves MarshClan. I doubt Brindlestar's ego will agree" Owlstar meowed.

"If only we had a little more territory. Then we wouldn't suffer as much." Owlstar looked down at the ground. "Any luck with hunting?" Nightpaw shook his head. "Mousepaw and I have been out all day. We've found nothing." Nightpaw replied. Owlstar sighed. "I guess we're out of luck. Perhaps I shall visit StarClan at the High Peak. Maybe they'll have answers for me." Owlstar meowed.

L"Owlstar, I know some cats don't agree with me, but I think you're doing a good job. Despite how tough our lives are right now, no other cat could have done better." Nightpaw said to the dark brown and white tom. "Thank you, Nightpaw. Try and see if you can find any prey out there." Owlstar smiled a little. "Of course, Owlstar." Owlstar padded away.

Nightpaw raced out of the SnowClan camp. He wasn't going to find prey. He headed towards the back side of the territory. _I'll find us some new kind of hunting area. Somewhere with lots of prey._ Nightpaw promised. He started to climb a small, rocky mountain. The black tom slipped a few times, but he continued to climb. _I won't fail my clan this time._

Nightpaw finally reached a flat area. It wasn't too far from the rest of the SnowClan territory. Nightpaw sniffed the air for the scent of fresh kill. His mouth watered when he scented mice, rabbits, and birds.

"You!" Nightpaw turned to see an old, black cat emerge from a small cave on the side of the mountain. "Who are you?" The old cat demanded. "What the heck do you want, gramps? I'm just trying to feed my clan, so back off." Nightpaw growled. The old cat laughed. "I know you're a SnowClan cat." He chuckled. Nightpaw loosened up. "How'd you know what clan I was from? And who are you?"

The old cat smiled. "I used to be a SnowClan cat. The name is Shade." He replied. Nightpaw's eyes opened wide. "I-I'm Nightpaw." He stammered. "You mean you're little Nightkit?" Shade asked. "Ha! You used to be the smallest kit! Now look at you!" Shade approached happily. "You knew me?" Nightpaw asked. Shade nodded.

Before either cat could say anything else, it started to rain. "Why don't you come inside? It's late and the weather is going to be nasty tonight. With leaf-bare on the way, you'll freeze out here. And you'll never make it back to camp before it gets worse." Shade meowed. "Thank you, Shade. I accept your offer." Nightpaw replied respectfully. He followed the old cat inside the cave.

"So tell me, why did you leave SnowClan?" Nightpaw asked as Shade grabbed him a dead bird to eat. "When I was there, my clan mates thought I was part of a prophecy. In it, it said I would be evil. They threw me out. It turned out they were wrong. The prophecy was about a different cat. My life afterwards wasn't bad. I had grown to love my life as a loner, and I met a beautiful she cat. Her name was Lilac." Shade explained. "We had a son, his name was Fog. He lives close by with his mate and kits. I'm pretty sure they're expecting another litter." Shade went on.

"So, how's Clawstar?" "I'm sorry to tell you, Shade, but Clawstar is dead. Owlstar is our leader now." Nightpaw told the old cat. Shade lowered his head. "Clawstar was a great leader. I will never forget him. He was a good friend of mine."

Nightpaw felt sorry for the elder. "So Owlstar is leader, eh? He was a good deputy, I'm sure he is doing well." "Well, we are going through hard times right now. We're low on cats and food." Nightpaw sighed. "I'm sure it will get better." Shade said. "That's why I'm here. I was looking for better hunting grounds for the clan." Nightpaw explained. "You're welcome to use my clearing for hunting anytime. Just grab me something if you do, alright? My weak, old legs make hunting harder." Shade laughed. "It's a deal." Nightpaw replied.

"So, where's Lilac? Is she around?" Nightpaw asked. Shade shook his head. "She walks with StarClan now. At least, I hope. When I leave this world, I want to spend eternity with her." Shade said. "I'm sorry, Shade, I didn't mean to bring her up." Nightpaw apologized. "It's alright. I'm too old to get upset about things." Shade smiled. "Do you ever see your son?" Nightpaw asked. Shade nodded. "He visits sometimes with his family. It makes me happy to see him." Shade smiled. He yawned. "Well, I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, son." Shade settled down into his nest in the corner of the cave. "You can use Lilac's bed next to mine." He meowed as he shut his eyes.

 _He never removed her nest? Poor guy_. Nightpaw thought. He padded over to lay down in the nest. Nightpaw shut his eyes. Suddenly, Nightpaw found himself standing over his body.

"What was in that bird?" He said aloud. "Just a normal bird." Nightpaw saw a ginger and white she cat appear. "Hello, Nightpaw. I'm Lilac." She purred. "Are you part of StarClan?" Nightpaw asked. She nodded. "So how and why are you contacting me?" Nightpaw meowed. The she cat smiled. "I came because you came. This is the StarClan Forest." Lilac told the SnowClan apprentice.

"The StarClan Forest? How did I get here?"

"You and three other living cats have the ability to walk here."

"And who are the other three?"

"That I cannot answer for you. That is something you must discover on your own."

"And why should I have to do all that work when you already have the answer?"

"That is the will of StarClan. If we spoon fed everything to the clans, they wouldn't work at all."

"Why would you care? You were never in a clan."

Lilac sighed. She padded out of the den and sat down, staring up at the stars. Nightpaw walked out after her. When he stepped outside, he was immediately annoyed. A cold gust of wind ruffled his pelt, making him shiver. "I don't understand. Why am I able to walk here? What's the point?" Nightpaw asked. Lilac looked at the tom. Suddenly, the area faded and was replaced with millions of shooting stars. The glowing stars reflected into both cats' eyes.

"Nightpaw, you are destined for something greater." Lilac said. "The bird will see gray while the light and dark tussle." She said. "What in the name of StarClan is that nonsense supposed to mean?" Nightpaw demanded. Lilac didn't answer. He body slowly started to fade. "Wait, Lilac! Do you want me to say something to Shade?" Nightpaw meowed. "Very well. Tell him that I watch over him and will be with him always." Lilac said as her body disappeared. Nightpaw watched as the stars vanished.

"I don't know what just happened, but that was pretty insane." Nightpaw said to himself. Nightpaw padded back into the little cave. He tried to wake up Shade, but he couldn't. "So I can't affect cats in the real world. That makes sense." Nightpaw noted. "How do I get back?" He wondered. Nightpaw watched as a pebble fell on his body's head. "What if I..." Nightpaw began as he placed his spirit paw into the back of his body. Before he could finish, his spirit entered his body again. Nightpaw found himself in the nest, just like he had when he fell asleep. "That was crazy." He muttered. Nightpaw shut his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep.

 **Blackheart is going to train Nightpaw, Nightpaw found new hunting grounds, and we met Shade. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you have any tips, suggestions, or questions, don't be afraid to contact me! I am halfway done with Brightpaw's chapter, so I'll post it soon.**

 **I am going to be writing another story soon! Hopefully the prologue will be out tomorrow at some point. (It will be a Warriors story too). Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :3**


	9. Chapter 8 - The Test

"Not bad, but try it like this." Acornpaw said. He showed her an easier way to jump onto an enemy cat. "Now try it like how I did." Acornpaw meowed. Brightpaw nodded. She attempted it, but ended up falling. Acornpaw demonstrated it again and Brightpaw tried it again. After a few tries, Brightpaw finally got it. "That was great! If you keep working on it, you'll master it." Acornpaw purred."Thanks! What's next?" Brightpaw meowed. "Uh, how about the Underbelly Slash?" Acornpaw asked. "You taught me that already." Brightpaw laughed.

"Oh, right. Then how about Sky Attack?"

"Done!"

"Flip Slash?"

"Done!"

"The Midnight Sneak?"

"We did that too."

Brightpaw giggled. Acornpaw continued to list moves and Brightpaw continued to say that they had went over it. "I'm out of ideas." Acornpaw admitted, scratching his ear. Brightpaw purred. They were being tested tomorrow, and Brightpaw had grown confident in herself. She was still nervous, but Acornpaw helped her. They had practiced all day yesterday and all day today. The sun was setting and the two were exhausted. "Let's catch some prey on the way back and rest up when we get home. We'll need all of our strength tomorrow if we want to impress Coldstar." Acornpaw meowed. "Cool, I bet I'll catch something before you do!" Brightpaw laughed, running off. "Wait up!" Acornpaw yelled, racing after her.

"I can't believe you caught a rabbit before I caught a mouse." Acornpaw said, his voice muffling by the mouse. "I used all of the hunting tips you gave me yesterday, so you can have some credit." Brightpaw purred.

"How much credit do I get?"

"I dunno, 30 percent?"

"30 percent?"

"What, too little?"

"No, that was way more than I expected."

The two apprentices laughed. "Hey guys. How's the practice going?" The entrance guard, Oakfall, greeted them. "Great!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "Good to hear. Good luck tomorrow." He replied as they walked inside. "Thanks!" They called.

"So who'd win in a fight? Swiftfoot or Oakfall?" Brightpaw said, taking a bite of a bird. "Swiftfoot. Definitely." Acornpaw replied with a mouthful of mouse. "He's way faster and he's clever." "Alright, how about Greentail or Rosepetal?" Brightpaw asked. "That's a tough one. They'd both flay you if you got too close to their kits." Acornpaw laughed. "I'm gonna say Greentail. She seems like a stronger warrior to me." Brightpaw giggled. "I'm going with Rosepetal. She's got good defense." Acornpaw said.

Brightpaw saw Daisypaw walk past them, carrying borage leaves. "Hey Daisypaw! Who'd win in a fight? Rosepetal or Greentail?" Brightpaw called. Daisypaw rolled her eyes. "That's how you guys spend your time?" She asked. "Hey, we've been practicing hard for the past few days." Acornpaw pointed out. "Because you guys started a fight." Daisypaw meowed. "Hey, you know Redpaw and Volepaw are jerks." Brightpaw said. "Yeah, yeah. Well, I have to go before a stupid kit tries to steal my job." Daisypaw muttered walking away. "What was that all about?" Acornpaw turned to Brightpaw and asked. Brightpaw sighed. "Daisypaw is, well, Daisypaw. I don't understand half the things she does. She's too smart." Brightpaw admitted. Acornpaw smiled.

Before either cat could say something, Cloudwing approached them. "There you two are. I was looking for you." He purred. "Hey, Cloudwing. What's up?" Acornpaw asked. "I wanted to wish you guys good luck for the trial tomorrow. Coldstar, Swiftfoot, and I are going to be judging." Cloudwing explained. "I want you two to rest up. Go to bed early. We want to see the best version of you, so eat well and rest." Cloudwing started to walk away, but he stopped.

"Brightpaw, can I get a word with you?" Brightpaw nodded. She meowed goodbye to Acornpaw and followed the deputy. They sat next to the High Oak. "Swiftfoot asked me to tell you that he's sorry for not helping you get ready that much." Cloudwing began. "It's fine. Acornpaw wanted to train with me, so I didn't get a chance to talk to Swiftfoot a lot." Brightpaw replied. "I'm glad to see you made a friend." Cloudwing chuckled. "Father, I'm not that pathetic." Brightpaw joked.

"No, no you're not." Cloudwing purred. He licked his daughter's ear. "I have faith that you'll pass tomorrow. You'll do fine." "I'll try my best." Brightpaw replied. "I know you will. Now go get some sleep." Cloudwing meowed as he got up. Brightpaw watched her father gather cats for a hunting patrol. I'll do my best to make you proud, father. Brightpaw thought. The white she cat stood up and walked into the apprentice den. She saw Acornpaw already curled up in his nest. Brightpaw quickly got into her best and fell asleep. She was exhausted from the training and it felt good to get some sleep.

"Isn't it kinda unfair that Cloudwing's judging? I mean, he'll make sure his daughter will pass." Redpaw meowed. "I will judge fairly. I won't change the rules and give her special treatment." Cloudwing retorted. The four apprentices stood in front of Coldstar, Cloudwing, and Swiftfoot. The test was being held in the Practice Plains. "So what's first, o wise judges?" Redpaw demanded. "Hunting. You have to catch three prey as fast as you can. The three of us will be observing from the trees. After that, you'll be fighting Pebblesplash when he gets here. At the end of the night, the four of you will sit here in Practice Plains." Coldstar explained.

"We're just sitting vigil?" Volepaw asked. "You could say that. But I hear there's a nasty storm coming. The vigil will show discipline." Coldstar went on. "Of course, if you're too afraid, you may come back to camp. Just remember that we will be judging on how well you do. If you are injured, we will understand if you return to camp." "I wasn't expecting that last one." Acornpaw whispered to Brightpaw. "I don't know if I can do that." Brightpaw admitted quietly. Before Acornpaw could say something, Swiftfoot interrupted.

"We begin now. On three, the hunting challenge will begin." He meowed. Brightpaw's heart pounded. _This was going to be a long day._ She thought. Coldstar, Cloudwing, and Swiftfoot climbed up their own trees. Brightpaw watched as the leader and deputy jumped through the trees, away from the Practice Plains. "One, two, three, go!" Swiftfoot yelled. All four apprentices separated.

Brightpaw saw Volepaw stay in the Practice Plains. Redpaw had darted off towards the Hunting Bay. _So creative. I'll head towards the Windy Cliffs._ It was close to the Wispy Willows, where Acornpaw was headed. Windy Cliffs was a small, rocky part of the mountain. It was good for finding rabbits and birds.

After a little while of searching, Brightpaw couldn't find anything. _I can't finish last!_ She thought. She scented the air and found a slight scent of rabbit. Brightpaw followed the scent and found a young rabbit sitting on a rock. Brightpaw made sure not to kick any of the small rocks around her. _If I make any noise, that rabbit will run faster than you can say 'rabbit'._ Brightpaw thought. At that moment, her back leg kicked a pebble, sending it down the mountain and alerting the rabbit. It immediately took off, but Brightpaw wasn't going to give up. She leapt off of the rock and ran after it. The young bunny wasn't fast enough. Brightpaw finally caught it and quickly ended the rabbit's life. "Thank you, StarClan." She whispered as she grabbed her rabbit and ran swiftly back to the Practice Plains.

Redpaw had already caught two mice, Volepaw had a thrush, and Acornpaw was returning with a rabbit. Brightpaw set hers down and ran back to the Windy Cliffs. She saw a finch fly down and land on a rock. Brightpaw jumped and caught the bird, but the rock was sharp. The rock jabbed her in the side of her stomach, making her wince in pain, dropping the dead bird. She slowly got up. The side of her stomach was cut open a little, staining some of her white fur red.

Brightpaw grabbed the bird and slowly made her way to the Practice Plains. She met Volepaw, who was adding a rabbit to his pile. "What happened to you?" He exclaimed. Brightpaw felt like she was dreaming. _Volepaw is being somewhat decent?_ She thought, dropping her bird. "Sharp rocks." She replied. "You should find one of the spectators, I'm sure they'd let you stop to get cobwebs." He meowed. Brightpaw shook her head. "I'm not ending until I have three catches." She said.

Brightpaw turned and slowly headed back to Windy Cliffs. Every second she moved or breathed caused her more pain. _That was a really sharp rock._ She thought, stopping to look at it. But I've got to keep going. Brightpaw had finally reached Windy Cliffs. _I just have to find one more prey._ She thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a wren. Brightpaw watched as it pecked at some seeds. As quietly as she could, she started to inch closer. She leapt at the bird, but it flew out of her reach. "Foxdung." She muttered as she watched it fly away. Her cut stung as she got to her feet. Brightpaw felt like she was going to pass out from the loss of blood. The scent of mouse wafted into her nose. A plump mouse was busy cleaning itself. Brightpaw ran after it. The fat mouse was no match for the white she cat. She killed it and thanked StarClan for its life. Brightpaw grabbed it and headed to Practice Plains as fast as she could. A few times she stumbled, but finally arrived.

She was the last one there. "Brightpaw!" Acornpaw exclaimed. "Volepaw told us what happened." Cloudwing jogged over to his daughter. He looked at Lakebreeze, who was sitting next to Pebblesplash. He summoned her with a flick of his tail. The she cat grabbed cobwebs and other herbs that Brightpaw couldn't recognize and padded over.

"Lie down, Brightpaw. I can stop the bleeding and make the pain bearable." She said. Brightpaw slowly laid down and Lakebreee got to work. "Ha! The little kit got hurt." Redpaw laughed when he saw Brightpaw. Brightpaw watched as Volepaw whispered something in his friend's ear. It was too quiet for her to make out. She saw Redpaw roll his eyes.

"Lakebreeze, can Brightpaw continue?" Coldstar asked. "Of course I can!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "I finished my hunting challenge, I can finish the test!" Coldstar looked at the apprentice and then turned to the medicine cat. "Lakebreeze?" He repeated. The medicine cat hesitated. "If she takes it easy, then I guess it would be okay. But when you're done I want to check on it." She said. Brightpaw let out a sigh of relief. "Good. We will continue on with the combat challenge. Pebblesplash?" Coldstar turned to the rest of the cats. Pebblesplash jogged up to his leader. The light gray tom was a new warrior. He had only been made a warrior about a moon ago. "Redpaw will go first." Swiftfoot told the apprentices. "Why me?" Redpaw demanded. "You're the oldest apprentice. Besides, you've been running your mouth all day." Swiftfoot replied. Redpaw scowled.

"We're judging on how well you fight, not if you win or not." Cloudwing said told everyone. Redpaw stood on one side of the Practice Plains while Pebblesplash stood on the other side. "Hey Pebbles! Remember the last time we fought? I totally crushed you!" Redpaw taunted the light gray warrior. "I thought we agreed to stop calling me Pebbles." Pebblesplash muttered angrily.

"Come on, Pebblesplash! You can do it!" Brightpaw cheered. Redpaw glared at her. "Begin!" Coldstar shouted. Redpaw dashed at the gray warrior, who didn't move a muscle. Redpaw leapt at his side, and at the last moment Pebblesplash dodged out of the way. Redpaw landed on the ground. "He moved so fast!" Acornpaw exclaimed. "Unlike you, Redpaw, I've grown since our last fight." Pebblesplash grinned. Redpaw jumped to his feet and ran up to the warrior. He slashed Pebblesplash's chest. Pebblesplash then leapt over Redpaw and grabbed him by his tail. Redpaw cried out in pain. Pebblesplash spun Redpaw around and threw him. "Pebblesplash is really fast!" Brightpaw meowed. The gray warrior charged at the apprentice. Redpaw bit Pebblesplash's leg, making him flinch. He jumped onto Pebblesplash's back and bit into it. Pebblesplash threw him off. The two charged at each other once more. They more clawed at each other's chest.

"I've seen enough." Coldstar meowed, making both toms stop. "Cloudwing, Swiftfoot, are we ready to move on?" Both replied with a nod. "Alright. Who's next?" Coldstar looked at the three apprentices. "I'll go." Volepaw volunteered. Brightpaw watched as Volepaw took on Pebblesplash. _He's way smarter than Redpaw._ Acornpaw went next. Brightpaw watched her friend fight valiantly. Even still, nobody could match Pebblesplash's speed. Brightpaw knew she would have to come up with something to counter it. _I can do this. I just have to remember what Acornpaw said._

Brightpaw's heart pounded. It was her turn to fight Pebblesplash. She gulped as she stared at the gray warrior. He stood on the other side of the Practice Plains. "You can do it, Brightpaw!" Acornpaw shouted. "Don't worry about your injury! You'll do fine!" Volepaw added. Brightpaw gasped. _I forgot all about my injury! Oh I'm screwed, aren't I?_ Brightpaw glanced at her cut. Even though she had cleaned her fur after Lakebreeze treated it, some fur around it was stained again.

"Begin!" Swiftfoot hollered. Pebblesplash dashed at the white apprentice. Brightpaw was too scared to move and was knocked down. "Oof!" Brightpaw said. "Stay calm! You got this!" Acornpaw shouted. Brightpaw was on her back. She saw Pebblesplash leap into the air. _He's going to land on me!_ Brightpaw panicked. She felt like the world was going in slow motion. _Oh right! Acornpaw taught me about this!_ As Pebblesplash was about to land on her, Brightpaw used her back legs to push him. Pebblesplash landed on the ground hard.

 _It worked!_ Brightpaw quickly got to her feet and jumped onto Pebblesplash's back. She was only able to get in a scratch before Pebblesplash knocked her off. He grabbed Brightpaw by her tail and began to spin her around. _It's just like what he did to Redpaw!_ Brightpaw knew she had to come up with something. She started to kick his muzzle with her back legs, but it didn't do much. Her injury slowed her kicks down. Pebblesplash threw her into the air. Brightpaw landed hard on the ground. She heard Acornpaw and Volepaw gasp while Redpaw laughed. As Brightpaw got up, she winced in pain. Her cut had reopened.

Pebblesplash bit into Brightpaw's back. She shrieked in pain. Brightpaw slashed his ear with her claws, leaving a small knick. Pebblesplash let go of her. Brightpaw scratched his leg and he slashed her nose hard. She saw blood drip from her nose. Pebblesplash's ear was bleeding too.

"Finished!" Coldstar's voice boomed throughout the Practice Plains. "Pebblesplash, thank you for doing this. You fought like a brave and powerful StarClan warrior. Make sure to get Lakebreeze to check out any scratches and get some rest." Cloudwing meowed to the young warrior. Pebblesplash dipped his head in his respect. Before he walked away, he turned to Brightpaw. "That was a good fight. I'm glad we're in the same clan. I'd hate to face you in battle. Oh and I'm sorry about that cut. I didn't mean to open it again." Pebblesplash meowed. Brightpaw's face felt hot after his remark. "Lakebreeze will check out your wounds. Then I want you to grab some food and rest a little bit. At sunset, the four of you complete your challenge." Coldstar meowed as he walked off towards camp.

Brightpaw sat in the Practice Plains. She watched the sun slowly disappear. "I wish you all good luck." Coldstar told the apprentices. The white tom turned and left the apprentices at the Practice Plains. "How about we make a bet?" Redpaw meowed. "What kinda bet?" Volepaw asked. "Who's going to run home to mommy first?" Redpaw smirked. "My bet is on Brightpaw!" Brightpaw glared at him. "I'm going to say Redpaw." She replied. Redpaw snorted. "You talk a big game, but that's it. You're just a coward." Brightpaw went on. "I'm picking Redpaw too." Acornpaw said.

"Volepaw?" Brightpaw turned to look at the brown apprentice. He hesitated to answer. Brightpaw noticed Redpaw glaring at him. "I-I-I guess Brightpaw." He said quietly. "Good choice." Redpaw smiled. "So what are we betting?" Acornpaw asked. "How about we bet fresh kill? Losers give up their food tomorrow." Brightpaw meowed. "Deal." Redpaw said. "So it's between Redpaw and Brightpaw." Acornpaw told the group. "Good luck guys." Volepaw said. Redpaw glared at his friend. He stood up and started to walk to the other side of the Practice Plains. "Come on, Volepaw." He growled. Volepaw hesistated. The brown tom finally got up and followed his friend. "Let's go sit over there." Acornpaw said, pointing to the other side of the plains. Brightpaw nodded and the two walked over. As Brightpaw sat down under a tree, a rain drop fell on her nose, making her jump a little. emIt's going to be a long night.

Brightpaw and Acornpaw were crouched together. The wind was blowing hard as the rain poured down on the cats. Brightpaw jumped when she heard thunder. She shivered and pushed as close as she could to Acornpaw. "How are you holding up?" Acornpaw asked. She could barely hear him over the loud rain. "I'm not great but I'm not leaving!" Brightpaw yelled. "How do you think Volepaw and Redpaw are doing?" Acornpaw meowed. Brightpaw shrugged. "Probably as bad as us!" Brightpaw glanced over at them. Volepaw was shivering underneath a tree. His brown pelt was drenched. Redpaw was next to him. His pelt was also messy and wet. "Acornpaw, let's go sit with them." Brightpaw suggested.

"What?!"

"If we joined with them, we'd be warmer."

"I don't know, Brightpaw. They're not the nicest cats in the world."

"Well I'm going to sit with them. You can stay here and freeze if you want."

Brightpaw got up and shook her white pelt out. "Watch it!" Acornpaw groaned. He slowly got to his feet and shook the rain out of his fur too. The two started to walk over to the other apprentices. Mud stained Brightpaw's feet. "What do you losers want?" Redpaw jeered. "We thought it would be better for all of us if we stayed together as a group." Brightpaw replied. " _She_ came up with that, not me." Acornpaw meowed. Brightpaw rolled her eyes. "Well we don't agree." Redpaw said. "You mean, _you_ don't agree." Volepaw retorted. Redpaw scoffed. After a minute of silence, he said, "Fine. You can sit with us."

Brightpaw was lying down in between Volepaw and Acornpaw. The apprentices were trying to fall asleep. So far, Acornpaw and Volepaw were asleep. Suddenly, Brightpaw heard a loud thunder. Redpaw shivered and got up. Brightpaw watched him start to head back to camp. She got up and ran after him.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked. "I'm going back to camp, alright!" He turned around and hissed. "No way. The four of us are finishing the test together!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "Do you really want to quit after all of this?" Redpaw didn't respond. "What made you wanna quit?" Brightpaw asked.

"I don't have to answer to you." Redpaw growled. "Just tell me." Brightpaw meowed. Redpaw sighed. "I'm scared of thunder, alright. And the rain isn't fun to sleep in either." He admitted. "Redpaw, you can overcome your fear. If you stay out here, you prove that you're not afraid of thunder. If you head home, you'll still hear it and you'll still be afraid of it." Brightpaw told him. Redpaw didn't answer. He looked down at the ground and sighed. "Alright, I'll come back with you." He said finally. Redpaw followed the white she cat back to the Practice Plains. Brightpaw laid down in between Volepaw and Acornpaw and fell asleep.

Brightpaw found herself floating above her body and the bodies of the other apprentices. "Woah. This is a crazy dream." She said, staring at her starry body. "Greetings, Brightpaw." Brightpaw looked up to see a ginger tom sitting nearby. "Who are you?" Brightpaw asked, padding over to him. "My name is Brackentail. I used to be in BreezeClan. Now, I'm apart of StarClan." The tom replied.

"What are you doing here?" Brightpaw meowed. "I've come with a message for you." Brackentail smiled. The Practice Plains slowly disappeared and were replaced by a million shooting stars. The area reflected in both cats' eyes. "Brightpaw, you are more important than you know." Brackentail began. "The bird will see gray as the light and dark tussle." He slowly began to fade.

"What? I don't understand, Brackentail!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "When you want to leave the StarClan Forest, climb back into your sleeping body." Brackentail told her as his body faded away. Brightpaw watched as the Practice Plains slowly returned. She took a deep breath. Brightpaw walked back over to her body. The others were still asleep. Brightpaw laid on top of her body and her spirit returned to her body.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed Brightpaw's chapter! Brightpaw is getting stronger, they all took their test, and Brightpaw heard the prophecy. It went longer than I thought it would. If you have suggestions, tips, or questions, don't be afraid to ask me. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9 - Rising Shadows

**Starrysong likes Snowstorms: Thanks for commenting! I didn't really know how to phrase the first part of the prophecy. There may or may not be RobinXGray, so you'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;)**

The sun rose over the horizon and entered the cave. Nightpaw opened his eyes after the sun rays shined on his face. He shook out his pelt, annoyed after being woken up. Shade was still asleep. Nightpaw walked outside to catch some prey for him and Shade. He hadn't thought about what his clan would think about this. Nobody knew where he was. Would they be out panicking and searching for him? _Oh well. I did them a favor, so I'll take my time._

Nightpaw quickly caught a thrush and a mouse. Before he could head inside, he heard a yell from behind him. Nightpaw turned to see a small, cream colored cat run up the mountain. _Probably Shade's grandkit._ Nightpaw jogged over to greet the kit. "Where's grandpa? My father needs him to come immediately! And who are you?" The kit said breathlessly. "I'm Nightpaw. Shade is in his den sleeping. I'll get him right now." Nightpaw said quickly. He could see that something was urgent. Nightpaw left his food there and ran to get Shade.

"There's a little scrap of cream fur saying her father needs you right now." Nightpaw called. Seconds later, Shade walked outside. "Ah, Sunny! It's good to see you!" Shade greeted his grandkit. "Grandpa, my father said the kits will be coming soon and he asked for you to come immediately!" Sunny said urgently. "My, oh, my! I'm coming. Nightpaw, would you mind coming? I'll need help to get to Fog's place." Shade meowed. "Sure. I'll help." Nightpaw replied. He couldn't leave the elder and kit to get there on their own.

Nightpaw helped Shade get down the rocky terrain. The elder slipped twice, but Nightpaw was there to stop him from falling. When they finally reached the bottom, Sunny ran off and said, "Hurry! This way!" Shade followed behind, faster than Nightpaw thought the elder could move.

Nightpaw was a little unnerved the farther they moved. He was farther from SnowClan territory, didn't know his way home, and they were moving closer to Twoleg infested places. _I'm following a kit and an elder who clearly doesn't think like he used to. Have I lost my mind?_

They finally arrived at Fog's place. It was a small den made out of the hollowed base of an oak tree. It was close to Twoleg place and made Nightpaw uneasy. "Mother and Father are inside." Sunny told Shade. "Wait outside with Sunny." Shade told Nightpaw. The black apprentice nodded and watched Shade step inside the den. A minute later, another cat about Sunny's age came outside. _Probably her brother._

"Gramps told me to wait outside." The tom said to Sunny. The gray tom turned to Nightpaw and said, "Oh, you're Nightpaw, right? My name is Yarn." "Yeah, I'm Nightpaw." Nightpaw replied. "Gramps told me about the clans. That's where you're from, right? I could tell by your name." Yarn meowed. Nightpaw nodded. _Smart kit._ "Yeah, I'm from the same clan that your grandpa was from." "Cool! What is it like over there?" Sunny asked. "It's totally different than this life. You two would probably just have become apprentices like me. Of course, I will be a warrior soon." Nightpaw told them. _Well, I hope my little break won't affect that._

"Is your clan strong? Gramps told me it was a really strong clan when he was there." Yarn meowed. "Yeah, my clan is strong. We keep getting better and better too." Nightpaw replied. He didn't want to lie to the little kit, but he wasn't about to tell people that his clan was weak and starving.

At that moment, Fog walked outside. "Did something happen, father?" Sunny asked. "Cream started her kitting. Shade told me he needed room so I'm out here with you three now." Fog explained. "I'm Nightpaw. I was visiting Shade when Sunny came. I hope you don't mind that I'm here." Nightpaw meowed. "I don't mind. Thank you for helping Shade get here." Fog replied. He turned to his kits and said, "I'm going to go hunt. Cream will be hungry later." Nightpaw watched Fog get up and walk away.

"So what kind of food do you guys eat? We eat birds and squirrels!" Yarn asked Nightpaw. Every time Nightpaw answered one of their questions, the other had another questions for him. He didn't mind answering them, Nightpaw always liked showing off to others.

After several minutes of answering questions, Shade walked outside of the den with his head held low. "Shade? Is everything alright?" Nightpaw asked. Shade looked at Nightpaw. His eyes were filled with sadness. "What happened? Is Cream okay?" Nightpaw meowed. "Blood. There was so much blood. I couldn't do anything to stop it." Shade muttered. Nightpaw stepped inside the den. He gasped. Shade was right. There was a lot of blood inside.

Nightpaw looked at Cream who was lying on her side with three kits next to her. She had died from losing too much blood. Nightpaw looked at the kits. Two of them had been born still. Only the smallest kit was alive.

Nightpaw headed back outside. "Shade, I'm so sorry." Nightpaw said quietly so the kits couldn't hear. Shade hadn't moved a muscle. "Sunny, Yarn, why don't you go find your father?" Nightpaw suggested. He didn't want them to see what had happened. "Sure." Yarn replied. He and his sister raced off together to find Fog. "There's no way that kit will live. She has no mother and she's a runt." Shade told Nightpaw. "She can't live without milk." "We have to figure something out. I'm not ready to let her die." Nightpaw insisted. "What can we do?" Shade said. At that moment, Fog and the others had returned. "How did it go?" Fog asked.

Shade didn't answer. Fog looked at Nightpaw. "You might wanna go and see for yourself." Nightpaw said quietly, staring at the ground. Fog quickly walked inside the den. Moments later, he came back outside. His green eyes were watery. "I'm sorry, Fog. I did all that I could." Shade apologized. "I don't blame you. I-I-I-I don't know what to say." Fog muttered. "We have to find a way to save the last kit." Nightpaw stepped in.

"I don't know if I can figure something out." Fog replied. "Fog," Nightpaw began. "I know you're upset right now about the loss of your mate and kits, but we need to think of the last one. She needs you right now. I know it's tough, but you have to be strong." Fog picked up his head. "What do you have in mind?" Fog asked. "I don't know. I didn't figure anything out yet." Nightpaw admitted.

"I have an idea." Shade meowed. "I don't think you'll like it, but it's our only choice." "What's your plan?" Fog demanded. "Maybe we should let Nightpaw take her back to SnowClan. There must be a queen willing to take her in." Shade said. "You want me to take her with me?" Nightpaw exclaimed. "You need cats in your clan and she needs a mother." Shade replied. "If that's what's best, then I will take her with me. But it's up to Fog." Nightpaw meowed. He looked at Fog.

Fog was looking down at the ground. _He clearly doesn't know what to say._ "Fog, it's the only way." Shade repeated. "Fine. I will let Nightpaw take her to his clan." Fog went inside the den. He came back out holding the kit by the scruff. The little she cat was black with white socks. The tip of her tail and ears were faintly white and there was a little white patch of fur surrounding her left eye. Fog set her down in front of Nightpaw.

"Please take care of her." Fog told Nightpaw. "I will. When she's old enough, I'll take her to visit you." Nightpaw promised. He turned to Shade and added, "Do you want me to walk you back home?" Shade shook his head. "I'll stay with Fog and his kits for a while. Thanks anyway, Nightpaw." Shade explained. Nightpaw nodded. "Goodbye, Shade, Fog. I'm sorry for your loss."

He gently picked up the little kit and turned to leave. Nightpaw glanced over to see Sunny and Yarn sitting in front of the den. He felt bad for them. They were young and already lost their mother. _I know what it's like, and it's horrible._ Nightpaw began to walk back to Shade's place. He wasn't too sure about where he was going, but after a while of walking he found himself back at the clearing. _Thank StarClan._ _I've had enough of walking for one morning_.

Nightpaw walked back into Shade's cave. He wanted to bring his fresh kill back, but it would be hard with the kit. Nightpaw set the kit down to grab the fresh kill. The little kit sat up straight and let out a loud meow. Nightpaw smiled at the little she cat. Nightpaw threw the thrush and mouse on his back. He would have to balance it there and use his tail to assist.

The kit squirmed as Nightpaw picked her up by the scruff again. As the two made their way down the mountain, the kit wouldn't stop crying and meowing. "Shut it, kit." Nightpaw muttered, but the kit muffled his voice. The fresh kill on his back started to fall off but his tail kept it steady. The two had finally made it down the mountain with their fresh kill. Nightpaw felt relieved to be back on SnowClan territory.

Hopefully his clan wouldn't be too annoyed about his disappearance. He was hoping that his discovery of new hunting grounds and a new member would make his clan mates forget about that. As Nightpaw made his way back to camp, he bumped into a patrol.

"Nightpaw! Where on earth have you been?" The patrol leader, Waspstrike, exclaimed. "Who's the kit?" Darksky demanded. "Here, I'll help you carry the prey." Cinderpaw offered. She took the thrush and the mouse off of Nightpaw's back. Nightpaw set the kit down to talk. "It's a really long story and I'd prefer to tell Owlstar. I'm only telling my story once." Nightpaw replied. He grabbed the kit and followed the patrol back to camp.

"We found Nightpaw!" Waspstrike announced as they walked back into camp. Cats immediately looked at the black apprentice and the kit he was carrying. Owlstar and Spiderfang walked over to the patrol. "Where have you been?" Spiderfang hissed at the apprentice. Owlstar quieted her down with a flick of his tail. "Nightpaw, I'd like to speak with you in my den. Bring the kit." Owlstar meowed. Nightpaw followed the leader back to his den.

"I need to know where you went, where you got the fresh kill, and where you got the kit." Owlstar said. Nightpaw nodded and set the kit down next to him. "You see, I knew that we couldn't find prey on our territory anymore. I went hunting with Mousepaw and we couldn't find anything. So I decided to go find somewhere else to hunt. And I did." Nightpaw began. "I found this clearing in the mountains that is great for hunting. There's a cat there, Shade, who said we could hunt there as long as we caught him something." "Shade? Who's Shade?" Owlstar asked. "He said he used to be a warrior in SnowClan." Nightpaw explained. Owlstar's eyes opened wide a little, as if he was surprised to hear that Shade was alive.

"His son's mate died giving birth to three kits. Two of them died. She's the only survivor." Nightpaw went on. "They asked if I could take her back to the clan since nobody could care for her." Owlstar thought for a minute. "Our only queen right now is Icestorm. If Icestorm will nurse the kit, she can join." Owlstar said. "As for the new hunting grounds, I will send a patrol to investigate. You can lead it. If it's safe, we will hunt there." "Thank you, Owlstar." Nightpaw meowed.

"I am not happy that you left without telling anybody, but I understand and I'm grateful for the new member and hunting area." Owlstar replied. "I'm sorry about that, Owlstar. It won't happen again." Nightpaw told him. At any other time, Nightpaw would have had an attitude. Nightpaw didn't have an attitude now because he didn't want it to affect him getting his warrior name.

"That's good to hear, Nightpaw."

"Owlstar, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"When will I get my warrior name? I've been working hard all the time, passed several evaluations, and I'm the oldest apprentice here! I also got us more territory and a new kit! I think I deserve my warrior name, sir."

Owlstar paused for a moment. "I would like to apologize to you, Nightpaw. I've been busy ever since I became leader, worrying about not enough food and losing members. I haven't had the time to give you and your brother your warrior names. You'll get them soon, I promise." Owlstar meowed. Nightpaw dipped his head in respect. "Thank you, Owlstar."

Nightpaw picked up the kit and headed for the nursery. He knew that Icestorm would take the kit in. Icestorm was a very loving cat and an experienced queen. She only had one kit right now, Honeykit. Before Nightpaw reached the nursery, there was a wail from the medicine cat den. He looked to see Scorchfur's limp body and his mate, Addertooth, was crying close by. Nightpaw looked closely. He could see the warrior's ribs.

"He died from starvation." Nightpaw heard Patchface whisper to Waspstrike. Patchface was Scorchfur's brother. The warrior looked upset as he sat next to Waspstrike. Waspstrike licked his ear to comfort the mourning brother. _If only I had come back sooner. Maybe then Scorchfur wouldn't have died._ Nightpaw looked down at the kit. He didn't want that to happen to her. He got up and made his way to the nursery.

"Icestorm?" Nightpaw called. Two seconds later, the beautiful white tabby popped her head outside. "Nightpaw? What is it?" Icestorm asked. Nightpaw set the kit down in front of her. "She doesn't have a mother. Owlstar said if you would take her in, she could join our clan. Can you take care of her?" Nightpaw meowed. Icestorm looked down at the little kit. "Of course I'll take her in. This isn't the first time I've done this." Icestorm said.

Nightpaw understood what she meant. Nightpaw's mother had died not long after he and Thistlepaw were born. Icestorm was the queen who had nursed them and looked after them. Even though he knew she wasn't his real mother, Nightpaw felt like she was. Icestorm had always been kind to them and loved them as if they were her own, and Nightpaw loved her as his own mother. She was the only cat other than Thistlepaw that Nightpaw truly loved.

"Thank you, Icestorm." Nightpaw sighed, relieved. "What's her name?" Icestorm asked. _We completely forgot to name her!_ "Um, well, she wasn't named." Nightpaw admitted. "Very well. We'll have to name her ourselves." Icestorm meowed. "How about Spottedkit or Moonkit?" Icestorm suggested. "Or Hollykit? Maybe Echokit?"

Nightpaw wasn't satisfied with any of the names. They didn't really fit her. "What about Shadowkit?" Nightpaw meowed. "Shadowkit sounds cute. I like it." Icestorm said. Shadowkit let out a loud meow, making Icestorm laugh. "You're probably starving. Come on, say goodbye to Nightpaw." Icestorm purred. "I'll see you and Shadowkit later." Nightpaw told them. As Icestorm picked Shadowkit up, Shadowkit meowed even louder. _Maybe I should have named her Loudkit. She's pretty talkative._

"I've asked Nightpaw to lead a patrol to the clearing to make sure it is safe." Owlstar was saying. He had called a meeting to report everything that Nightpaw had told him. Some of the cats weren't very approving of taking in Shadowkit, but Nightpaw didn't care what they thought. _If they make her go, I'll leave with her. I know what's she's going through. Besides, I made a promise to keep her safe, and that's what I'm going to do._

"Are we seriously going to let an apprentice lead a patrol? Especially the one that ran off?" Darksky challenged. "Hey I didn't run off! I'm not a coward like you!" Nightpaw spat. "I'm no coward, you little punk!" Darksky hissed. "Someone should teach you some manners!" "Someone should teach you not to pick a fight you can't win!" Nightpaw growled.

"Enough!" Spiderfang shouted. "Both of you are mouse-brained! Fighting amongst yourselves? How pitiful!" "Thank you, Spiderfang. Nightpaw, I want you to take Blackheart and Thistlepaw with you on your patrol. Darksky, you can join them." Owlstar ordered. _Great! A patrol with Darksky! Just what I wanted. This is why I'm always grumpy. I have the worst luck._

Nightpaw gathered the cats for the patrol and started to lead them. "I can't believe Owlstar made Darksky join the patrol." Nightpaw muttered. "Don't worry, I don't think he'll want to talk to you." Thistlepaw whispered. "Thank StarClan." Nightpaw replied.

"So did Blackheart talk to you about the extra training?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Did you say yes?"

"Of course!"

"Cool! We can finally train together!"

"Can you tell me more about this 'extra training'?"

"Sorry, but Blackheart told me not to."

Nightpaw couldn't help but roll his eyes. Why would his brother trust Blackheart so much? _I don't understand you sometimes, Thistlepaw._ The patrol had finally arrived at the clearing. "So what are we calling this?" Thistlepaw asked. "Well I found it, so I guess I should name it." Nightpaw said. Nightpaw saw Darksky roll his eyes. _And they say I've got a big ego._

"How about Shade's Clearing?" Nightpaw suggested. "Sounds good to me." Thistlepaw replied. "Well, we should focus on making sure it's safe before we name it." Blackheart said coldly. The skinny tom walked to the far side of the clearing. The patrol continued to investigate the clearing.

"We will hunt before we head back. Nobody leaves without catching something." Blackheart ordered. "I'm in charge, Blackheart." Nightpaw reminded him. Blackheart glared at him. "And I'm in charge of you. Or did you forget that, apprentice?" Blackheart snapped. Nightpaw didn't back away. Blackheart may be his mentor, but this was Nightpaw's patrol. He was to going to let Blackheart control it.

Nightpaw was the first to catch something. Before he could take his mouse back to camp, Darksky snatched it. "Hey!" Nightpaw exclaimed. "Back off!" "Or what? Are you going to fight me?" Darksky growled. "Enough!" Blackheart shouted. "I'll take it back to camp. Nightpaw, I want you to hurry up. I need to speak with you. Alone." Nightpaw rolled his eyes and went back to hunting.

After a couple of minutes, he managed to catch a wren. Nightpaw didn't want to walk back to camp with Blackheart, but he didn't exactly have a choice. "So what do you want to talk to me about?" Nightpaw meowed. "I thought you were more ruthless than that. You took in a kit for our clan!" Blackheart began. "You should have just killed the little mite. It's just another mouth for us to feed. We just lost Scorchfur, so we wouldn't have to hunt as much, and now you bring in another member!" "Hey, Shadowkit didn't deserve to die! Why would I harm a helpless kit? That's against the code!" Nightpaw argued.

"Who cares about the code? It just holds us back!"

"If we didn't have it, there'd be chaos!"

"Do you want extra training from me or not?"

"I do!" _Not really, but I need to know what you're doing with Thistlepaw._

"Then start acting like you deserve it! Because right now, you aren't worthy."

Blackheart jogged off towards camp. Nightpaw was seething when he got back to camp. Darksky was being annoying as always, Thistlepaw was keeping secrets, and Blackheart showed how big of a jerk he really was. He decided to bring his squirrel to Icestorm, as a way of saying thanks for taking in Shadowkit.

"Nightpaw!" Nightpaw turned to see Mousepaw running up to him. "Mousepaw? Where have you been?" Nightpaw asked. "I've been busy with apprentice duties. Cinderpaw filled me in when I got back to camp." Mousepaw explained quickly. "I'm fine with talking, but I'm getting food first. I'm starving." Nightpaw told his friend. He grabbed a squirrel to share with Mousepaw. The two joined Cinderpaw to talk.

"So Icestorm took Shadowkit in? That's great!" Cinderpaw exclaimed happily. Nightpaw took a bite of his squirrel and nodded. "Did you talk to Owlstar about your warrior name?" Mousepaw asked. "Yeah. He said if get it soon." Nightpaw replied. "What about Thistlepaw? He's your brother and he's worked hard too. Did he say anything about him?" Cinderpaw meowed. "He'll get it the same time I get mine." Nightpaw said.

"If you ask me, I think you should have gotten it already. I mean, you got us new territory and a new member. That seems pretty worthy to me." Cinderpaw told them. "Yeah, but he did break the code a little bit. He left the territory without anyone knowing." Mousepaw pointed out. "I know, but it's still frustrating that I'm still an apprentice." Nightpaw admitted. "Don't worry. You'll get it soon." Cinderpaw told him. Nightpaw stood up. "Well, I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Nightpaw said. He turned around and walked off towards the apprentice den. _It feels good to be back in my old nest._

 **Hopefully you guys enjoyed! I'm going to start leaving questions here for fun, so do send your answers in! I will post them with every new chapter.**

 **Whos your favorite character in the story so far? What do you think about Shadowkit? And what do you think Nightpaw and Thistlepaw's warrior names will be? (I may take suggestions for their name btw).**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 10 - The Bird will see Gray

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been busy with school and lacrosse, but I am back! Anyway, I'm going to start answering reviews here, so if you send them in you'll see them on here.**

 **Starrysong Likes Spring - Thanks for reviewing! I love all of the main characters so far, but if I had to pick then I'd pick Nightpaw XD**

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Graypaw was out training with Berrypaw, Hazelpaw, and Eaglepaw. The four apprentices usually hung out to practice every once in a while. They would show each new moves and techniques that they came up with and teach one another.

Eaglepaw was always throwing his weight around in a battle while Berrypaw used her smaller size to move quickly around her opponent and confuse him. Hazelpaw was more focused on clawing her attackers than using a talent.

Graypaw spent her free time coming up with counter attacks for her friends' fighting styles. She would dodge Eaglepaw's attacks and hit him with quick attacks, step lively around Berrypaw and keep her in her sights, and would jump around Hazelpaw to get her frustrated. Graypaw was surprised her friends never figured out a way to counter back, but at the same time she wasn't. She had always been more of a strategist than her friends.

"Graypaw, are you even paying attention?" Hazelpaw sighed. Graypaw blushed. Eaglepaw and Berrypaw stared at her.

Graypaw hadn't been paying attention to Hazelpaw at all. She was too busy thinking about the prophecy! She wanted to figure out who else had gotten the dream. Graypaw was determined to find the others in the prophecy.

"Sorry, Hazelpaw." She said. Hazelpaw rolled her eyes and went on showing her friends a hunting technique. Before she could continue, one of the StoneClan warriors, Newtstream, jogged up to them.

"Hey, Newtstream! What's up?" Eaglepaw greeted. "Talonstar asked me to find you. He said that Graypaw and Eaglepaw were going to the Gathering tonight." The dark tabby replied.

"Sweet!" Eaglepaw cheered as Hazelpaw and Berrypaw moaned. Graypaw had completely forgotten about the Gathering. It was a nice surprise to hear that she was going.

It also gave her alone time with Eaglepaw. _The prophecy mentioned something about a bird, so maybe Eaglepaw was that bird?_ Graypaw planned on not giving too much away in case he wasn't part of the prophecy, just asking if he had any weird dreams.

"We should probably get ready. The Gathering is not long from now." Eaglepaw was saying. Berrypaw gave her chest a couple of quick licks. "I wish I could go. But I did go last time, so I'm happy for you two." She purred.

"I've only gone to one so far! I don't get why Talonstar never picks me to go." Hazelpaw complained.

"Don't complain. You'll go next time." Graypaw said. "You go all the time!" Hazelpaw sighed. "Not really. She's only gone twice." Eaglepaw stepped in.

"Just be sure to tell us everything that happens." Berrypaw meowed to Graypaw. "I like hearing everything that goes on." Graypaw nodded. "Don't worry, we promise."

Graypaw meowed goodbyes to her friends as the group of cats headed for Star Valley. All of the Gatherings were held there. It was big enough to shelter all four of the clans. Graypaw glanced over at Stormpaw. He had also been chosen to go tonight. She trotted straight past him and met up with Eaglepaw.

"So how are you doing?" She said. "Not bad. My paws will be sore after tonight, but that's alright. What about you?" The tom replied. "I'm doing good." Graypaw said. _I gotta talk about dreams somehow._

"I'll have a good night sleep after all of this walking."

"It'll feel great being curled up in my nest."

"Had any good dreams lately?" _Alright, not a bad transition._

"Uh, well there was one where we were battling MarshClan. Of course I was the reason we won."

"Cool. Any weird ones?"

"Weird ones?" "Yeah, anything weird lately?"

"Other than this conversation, nope. Everything's normal so far." _Great. That was awkward and it didn't get me anyway with the prophecy_.

Graypaw and the rest of StoneClan had just arrived at Star Valley. Four rocks stood tall in the valley. Each leader got their own stone to sit on.

MarshClan was already waiting there. BreezeClan and SnowClan weren't there yet. "Well, I'm going to go find some other apprentices to talk to. Are you coming, or are you going to hang with Stormpaw?" Eaglepaw winked. "Gross!" Graypaw shuttered. "Get real, Eaglepaw."

"Alright, alright, no more jokes. I swear." Eaglepaw replied, still grinning. "There's a group of MarshClan apprentices over there. Let's go say hi." Graypaw followed her friend over to the group. Three apprentices, a black tom with white feet, a silver tabby, and a brown and white tabby were busy talking. The brown and white apprentice had a visible scar on his shoulder. _He must have gotten it recently. It looks like it healed well._

"Hey. I'm Eaglepaw and this is Graypaw." Eaglepaw was saying. "Nice to meet you. I'm Silverpaw. This is Ravenpaw and Robinpaw." The silver tabby meowed.

Graypaw couldn't help but notice that Robinpaw was staring at her. _The bird will see gray. Maybe he knows something._

"I've seen you and Robinpaw before at Gatherings. Are you a new apprentice, Ravenpaw?" Eaglepaw asked. "Yeah, I started about a quarter moon ago." Ravenpaw told him. "His brother was pretty annoyed he couldn't come tonight. He hurt his paw fishing and wasn't allowed to come." Silverpaw meowed. "Maybe we can introduce you to him next time." Ravenpaw suggested. Graypaw nodded.

Before she could say anything, BreezeClan arrived. "Hey Ravenpaw, do you see that big, white tom leading BreezeClan? That's their leader-" Robinpaw began. He was cut off by his eager brother before he could finish. "Coldstar, right? And the deputy is Cloudwing." Ravenpaw said. "Not bad." Robinpaw smiled.

Graypaw wanted desperately to talk to Robinpaw alone. If he did know something about the prophecy, she needed to know. "Should we introduce them to Stormpaw?" Graypaw whispered to Eaglepaw. She hated suggesting it, but it was the best way to get them away from her and Robinpaw. Eaglepaw shot her a look and smirked.

"Shut up. I'm just trying to be nice, okay?" Graypaw told him. "Sure, sure." He teased. Eaglepaw turned to the MarshClan apprentices and said, "Do you guys wanna meet our friend?"

Graypaw was relieved to see Eagkepaw leading them away. She jogged up to Robinpaw. "Hey, uh, do you have a minute to talk? In private?" Graypaw asked. _I really hope he's part of this prophecy thing. Otherwise he'll think I'm really weird._ "Yeah, that's fine. Let's go by that rock over there." Graypaw nodded and followed him over to the rock.

"Alright, so what's up?" Robinpaw asked. Graypaw took a deep breath. How was she going to say this? "Okay, so uh, I don't really know how to put this but-" _Well this is just going great._

"The bird will see gray?" Robinpaw meowed. "While the light and dark tussle!" Graypaw gasped. "You are part of the prophecy!"

"Shh!" Robinpaw warned her. "This is great!" Graypaw whispered. "We can figure this out together then!"

"Well, if the 'bird' and the 'gray' are us, then the 'light' and the 'dark' probably find each other. Our names were together in the prophecy. Maybe we should just wait until those two find each other." Robinpaw suggested. "How are we going to know if they find each other?" Graypaw asked. Robinson shrugged.

"I'm sure StarClan will help us with that part." "Did you go to the StarClan Forest yet?" Graypaw meowed. "Yeah, I did. When I almost died." Robinpaw said. "Almost died?" Graypaw repeated. Robinpaw nodded. "It's a long story. If we meet in the StarClan Forest tomorrow night, I can tell you about it." Robinpaw replied. "Sounds good to me. Maybe while we're there StarClan will give us a hint about the other two cats." Graypaw agreed.

Graypaw was so busy talking to Robinpaw that she didn't notice SnowClan walk in. _They'll probably bring up our discussion over the stolen prey. What fleabags._

"Come on, let's go find the others." Robinpaw told her. Graypaw and Robinpaw made their way over to their friends. "Hey, where were you two?" Silverpaw asked. "We, uh-" Robinpaw stammered. "We were following you guys, but then a group of BreezeClan cats cut us off and we couldn't find you guys." Graypaw said quickly. Robinpaw blinked gratefully at her.

Graypaw sat down next to Eaglepaw. She wanted to sit with Robinpaw, but she didn't want the others to get suspicious of them. Before Graypaw could react, Stormpaw sat next to her. _Oh great. Stormpaw._

"Hey, Graypaw." He greeted. "Hi, Stormpaw." Graypaw meowed without looking at him. "Look, I'm sorry about the whole incident we had when we were helping Sandpelt. I wanted to apologize and see if we could, I dunno, start fresh?" Stormpaw was saying. Graypaw hesitated to answer.

Before she had to answer, Coldstar had called for the Gathering to begin. _Thank StarClan._

"All is well in BreezeClan. Four of our kits will receive their apprentice names and two of our apprentices, Redpaw and Volepaw, will receive their warrior names soon." Coldstar began. "Brindlestar, would you like to speak next?" The tortoiseshell leader stepped forward.

"Prey is good in MarshClan. Apparently it's so good that SnowClan can't keep their grubby, little paws out of our territory for it!" Brindlestar spat, glaring at Owlstar. "My clan has not stolen any prey from any clan! I've made sure of it!" He replied calmly. Yowls of agreement rose up from the SnowClan cats.

"Stop the madness, Owlstar!" Talonstar snapped. "Your cats have stolen from our territory as well!" "Talonstar, Brindlestar, I assure you my cats have not stepped a foot over your borders." Owlstar meowed.

"Next time I hear that your cats have been scented on my land, you will regret it, Owlstar!" Talonstar yelled. "The same goes for MarshClan! We will not tolerate this!" Brindlestar agreed.

"Stop it!" Coldstar hollered. "Look at the sky!" Graypaw stared up at the full moon. Big clouds were moving in to cover it. "You've infuriated StarClan! If the three of your clans can't keep the peace for one night, my clan is leaving!" Coldstar yelled. "BreezeClan, move out, now!" The big, white leader leapt down from his rock and headed for his territory. The rest of his clan followed him out.

"I won't allow you both to drag the name of my clan through the mud any longer. If you want a war, I will give you a war." Owlstar told the other leaders. He leapt down and gathered his clan.

"Don't make me laugh, Owlstar." Brindlestar meowed. "Everyone knows that SnowClan is the weakest clan in the forest right now."

"I see your ego is as big as ever, Brindlestar." Talonstar said to the MarshClan leader. Brindlestar snarled at him and jumped down from her rock. "MarshClan, were leaving." She yelled.

"StoneClan, let's go." Talonstar said.

Graypaw said goodbye to Robinpaw and the other MarshClan apprentices. She quickly ran to the front of the group, hoping Stormpaw wouldn't follow her.

"Oh, hey Graypaw. That was some Gathering, huh?" Cherryspots laughed. Cherryspots was the last apprentice to be made into a warrior. She had always been popular with the other apprentices. She was a good hunter and she had beautiful white fur with red specks.

"I knew that Talonstar would bring up what happened, but I didn't think that would happen." Graypaw replied. "Neither did I. SnowClan is clearly in hot water with MarshClan. Brindlestar was really annoyed." Cherryspots meowed. "I'm glad she's not my leader."

 _Poor Robinpaw. He has Brindlestar as his leader, and she'd be a nightmare if that's how she acts all the time._ "Eaglepaw told me that you wanted to introduce some apprentices to Stormpaw. I always thought that you hated him." Cherryspots smiled. _Oh I'm going to hit Eaglepaw later. He better not tell anyone else._

"I was just trying to be nice. I don't like Stormpaw. He's annoying, arrogant, and self-centered." Graypaw insisted. "He's not that bad." Cherryspots began. "Not in my eyes. He could catch a baby mouse and act like he caught a giant rabbit." Graypaw said. Cherryspots shrugged.

"Anyway, how's being a warrior?" Graypaw was eager to change the subject. "It's great! I'm so glad that I don't have to do apprentice duties anymore." Cherryspots exclaimed. "You'll love being a warrior."

"Was your Warrior Avowal hard?" Graypaw asked. Whenever an apprentice received their warrior name, they were put through a trial to become a true warrior. Every clan had their own avowal. StoneClan made their newly named warriors retrieve an item from a hidden cave in the base of the High Peak. The entrance of the cave was littered with pointy rocks. The inside of the cave was no better. It was pitch black inside, with even more pointy rocks and sudden, small drops. Graypaw heard from the elders that it wasn't an easy task.

"I didn't think I'd get out of there again. It was hard to see and my feet were bleeding from the rocks." Cherryspots admitted. "But I did it, so I guess it wasn't that bad. I'm sure you'll do fine."

Graypaw didn't know how to prepare for the trial. She would be going into the avowal completely blind. Graypaw was so used to making plans, so not being able to make one made her worry. I won't have to take my avowal for a while, so here's no point thinking about it now.

Graypaw was tired by the time she got back to camp. She immediately headed for the apprentice den. When she got inside, Berrypaw was waiting. "Hazelpaw would have waited with me, but she fell asleep." Berrypaw laughed. "So what happened at the Gathering?"Graypaw let out a big yawn. "I'll tell you in the morning. I promise." She said as Eaglepaw and Stormpaw walked in wearily. "Fine. I'm tired anyway." Berrypaw yawned, curling up into her nest and shutting her bright, blue eyes. Graypaw climbed into her bed and fell asleep within seconds.

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed it! Graypaw and Robinpaw met up! It's slowly coming together guys. Thank you for the reviews, they motivate me to write. I'll update Cloudtuft's Clan and Shade's Exile soon. By the end of this week, they should have new chapters! Question for this chapter: Who is your favorite main character and side character? Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 11 - The First Meeting

**Yay, chapter eleven is out on time! You might have realized that the title changed a little. I always planned on making this into a series, not just one book. I don't know how, but I always forgot to add the second part of the title. So now, this book is called Prophecy of War: Calm Before the Storm. Cloudtuft's Clan also got a new title, just in case you were wondering about that too.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter! :D**

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Robinpaw was still fast asleep, curled up in his moss bed. Suddenly, a paw jabbed him in the belly. Robinpaw immediately woke up and jumped to his feet. He sighed when he saw Silverpaw standing next to him, trying her best not to giggle to loud and wake the other apprentices up.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Silverpaw purred. "Why'd you wake me up?" Robinpaw whispered, yawning. Even though he was tired from the Gathering last night, he didn't mind getting up early to spend time with his best friend.

"I thought we could hang out together, maybe go fishing or something?" Silverpaw explained quietly. Robinpaw smiled. "Sure, that'd be great." Robinpaw replied. He followed the silver tabby out of the den.

The sun was slowly rising into the sky. It was a cold, windy morning. "Man, leaf bare is coming sooner than I thought." Robinpaw meowed. "Hopefully the river doesn't freeze too much." Silverpaw said. "I'm glad we have a couple of places to fish. It would be awful if we only had one and it froze completely." Robinpaw pointed out.

Silverpaw smiled, staring at her best friend with big, blue eyes. Her silver pelt shined in the sunlight. She gave Robinpaw a quick lick on the ear. "Ready to go?" She asked. Robinpaw nodded.

As they headed for the exit, the warrior on guard duty, Blueflower, stopped to talk to them. "Where are you two headed so early?" The gray warrior asked curiously. Blueflower always was into gossiping. She was probably the biggest gossiper in MarshClan. _I don't get how some cats could enjoy gossip so much. I mean, it's not that great, right?_

"Just down to the river. We wanted to do some early fishing." Silverpaw explained. "Of course. Have fun you two." Blueflower meowed. She flashed them a smile. _Oh boy, I hope she doesn't spread some dumb rumor about us._

Robinpaw and Silverpaw said goodbye to Blueflower and stepped out of the camp. "Alright, Marsh River or Minnow Creek?" Silverpaw asked. "How about Marsh River?" Robinpaw suggested. "Sure." Silverpaw agreed.

Marsh River was the main source of food for MarshClan. It was farther from camp than Minnow Creek was, but Marsh River was much larger and had more fish.

Robinpaw walked through the peaceful forest, staring up at the trees. There were less trees in MarshClan's territory than StoneClan and SnowClan, but they had more than BreezeClan. Robinpaw wasn't a fan of climbing trees, unlike Silverpaw. _I don't get why StoneClan cats like trees so much. The water is way cooler than a tree_.

Suddenly, Silverpaw raced up a tree. "What are you doing up there?" Robinpaw called up, staring up the base of a tree. He tried to find Silverpaw, but there were too many leaves.

A minute later, a dead squirrel fell from the tree, landing on Robinpaw's head. He shook it off immediately. "Silverpaw?" Robinpaw called again. Silverpaw popped her head out of the leaves. "Yeah?" She asked, smiling. "Did you catch this squirrel?" Robinpaw laughed. "Yeah, that's why I ran up here." Silverpaw giggled, climbing down the tree.

"Why?" Robinpaw said, picking the squirrel up for her. " I dunno. I saw it and just felt like chasing it." Silverpaw shrugged. "I

swear, you're part StoneClan." Robinpaw joked, nudging her with his paws. "And you're part bird." Silverpaw winked. Robinpaw knew exactly what she was talking about. For some reason, it was a tradition in Robinpaw's family to name at least one kit after a bird. Silverpaw always thought it was a strange tradition. _Well, if I ever have kits, I'll continue that tradition. It'll totally annoy Silverpaw. And because it will make dad and mom happy. But mostly because it'll bug Silverpaw._

Robinpaw rolled his eyes playfully and chuckled. The two started walking towards Marsh River again. "Next time you see a squirrel, don't chase it. We should get to Marsh River and fish, not climb trees after squirrels." Robinpaw said. "Okay, okay. No more squirrels." Silverpaw vowed, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Robinpaw stared into the rushing water of Marsh River. It was so peaceful and beautiful. He balanced on a rock in the center of the river. Silverpaw sat on a nearby rock.

"They're just not biting today." Robinpaw sighed. They had been out for a while, and still hadn't seen any fish. "Maybe it's too early?" Silverpaw suggested. Robinpaw shook his head. "That doesn't sound right. It's not that early anymore. We've been out for a while." Robinpaw told her.

"Hey! Hey, look!" Silverpaw exclaimed. "There's some fish over there!" "Shush!" Robinpaw meowed. "You'll scare them away!"

"That's a great idea!" Silverpaw said cheerfully. "What? Scare away our fish?" Robinpaw asked, confused. Silverpaw laughed at her friend's comment.

"I'll jump in front of the fish, scaring them towards you. That's when you grab them." Silverpaw explained. "Good idea. Let's try it." Robinpaw meowed.

He watched as the silver tabby jumped onto shore gracefully. She walked over by where the fish were and looked at him. She gave a little nod to him and Robinpaw nodded back to show that he was ready. Silverpaw leapt into the water, causing a loud splash. She had landed right in front of the fish. They were now in between her and Robinpaw. Robinpaw was happy to see that her plan was working.

Just as she had said, the fish began to swim in the direction of Robinpaw. Robinpaw grabbed a nearby fish out of the water, killing it with his claws. He grabbed another one and placed it on the rock. Robinpaw swiped at another one, but missed. The fish swam back towards Silverpaw, who was still swimming in the water. Robinpaw grabbed another fish out of the river.

 _Silverpaw's idea worked so well! I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous. Usually it's me coming up with the great plans._ The brown and white tom couldn't help but laugh at his thoughts.

Robinpaw grabbed one of his caught fish and tossed it onto the bank of the river. He did the same thing with the other two fish and jumped onto the bank. He looked into the river for Silverpaw. _Where is she?_

Robinpaw couldn't help but laugh when he saw her silver head above the river, carrying a big fish in her mouth.

She climbed out of the river and shook her pelt out, getting Robinpaw wet. "Watch it!" Robinpaw exclaimed. "Whoops." Silverpaw blushed, dropping her fish on the ground. "That was great! You had such a good idea." Robinpaw told her. "Yeah, we did great!" Silverpaw agreed.

"Come on, let's bring all of this back to camp. Maybe we can try this again sometime." Robinpaw nodded and grabbed his three fish by their tails. They padded through the MarshClan territory, listening to the birds sing and the rushing river. "I'm sure the queens will enjoy these." Robinpaw said. "I heard Flutteringleaf is moving into the nursery soon." Silverpaw meowed. "I think she's expecting Molewhisker's kits. At least, that's what I've heard."

Robinpaw was happy for Flutteringleaf. MarshClan would be happy with more kits. It felt good to know that his clan was thriving. The fish were bountiful, they didn't have many problems with the other clans, and they had many cats, unlike SnowClan. It felt like everything was going wrong for SnowClan. Sure, they weren't the nicest clan in the forest, but they still didn't deserve to suffer.

Robinpaw dropped his fish off in the fish pile. "Do you want to share the squirrel with me?" Silverpaw asked as she dropped her fish off. "Sure." Robinpaw smiled. They sat in the shade, underneath a large oak tree. Robinpaw wasn't very hungry, but he was happy to share a squirrel with Silverpaw. He usually ate fish, just like every other cat in MarshClan, so he wasn't used to eating squirrels. But it was a nice change from fish everyday.

"Silverpaw, Robinpaw!" Robinpaw turned to see Silverpaw's mentor, Reedstrike. "We're going to do some combat practice with Ravenpaw and Jaypaw. We have to get ready for the apprentice games, they're coming up in a moon or so." Reedstrike told them. _The apprentice games! I totally forgot about it!_

The apprentice games were a special event for all of the clans. Every three moons, the four clans got together to compete in the apprentice games. They were competitions for the clans to compete in, like a hunting challenge and a battle tournament. Even though only apprentices were able to compete in the challenges, it was an event enjoyed by cats of all ages. Before the apprentice games, the leader of a clan chose the apprentices that we're going to compete in the challenges. Each clan brought fresh kill, and the winning clan took a good amount of the fresh kill. The clans in second place and third place also got a share of the prey, while the clan in last place received none.

Robinpaw and Silverpaw quickly finished the squirrel and followed Reedstrike to the Sandgrounds. Both apprentices were excited for the upcoming apprentice games. This was most likely their last time participating, since they would probably be made warriors by the time the next one came around.

They both had competed in the last one. Robinpaw and Hawkpaw competed in the battle tournament together. While Robinpaw didn't make it as far as Hawkpaw, Robinpaw did better in the hunting competition and relay race. Silverpaw had competed in the hunting competition, tree climbing contest, and the relay race. Pouncepaw was in the fishing competition and the balance contest. Hawkpaw had also competed in a stealth challenge.

Because MarshClan only had four apprentices at them time, the apprentices competed in several competitions. MarshClan still didn't have a medicine cat apprentice, so they would be unable to compete in the herb sorting challenge.

Reedstrike, Robinpaw, and Silverpaw met with the others in Sandgrounds. "Hey guys!" Jaypaw greeted them. "Are you guys excited for your first apprentice games?" Silverpaw asked excitedly. "Of course! I've been looking forward to it for a while!" Jaypaw exclaimed. "Hopefully I get picked for the hunting competition. Or the fishing one. I'm good at both." Ravenpaw said thoughtfully.

"What do you think I'll be in?" Jaypaw asked. "The battle tournament. I've seen you fight before, and you're pretty good." Robinpaw told him. "Thanks!" Jaypaw smiled.

"Alright you four, we've got a lot of time before the apprentice games. We should focus on tonight's practice instead." Runningfire purred as he padded into the Sandgrounds. "Runningfire! I wasn't sure if you were going to join us or not." Robinpaw meowed.

He was overjoyed to see his mentor. Ever since the accident with the SnowClan warriors, Robinpaw hadn't seen much of his mentor. Runningfire had been hurt badly, but it looked as if he had healed well. The MarshClan deputy looked just like his old self, as if he had never been hurt.

"Of course I was coming. How could I miss my apprentice training for the big apprentice games?" Runningfire smiled. He gave Robinpaw a lick on the ear and then walked over to join the other mentors.

"Okay, who wants to go first?" Lionclaw asked. "Me!" Jaypaw and Silverpaw exclaimed simultaneously. "Okay, okay, Jaypaw and Silverpaw are up first." Heathercloud told them. "Hurry up, step onto the battlefield."

Ravenpaw and Robinpaw took seats next to the mentors as Jaypaw and Silverpaw got into their positions. "Who do you think will win?" Ravenpaw asked curiously. "Silverpaw. She's great at fighting and more experienced." Robinpaw told him. "I totally agree. As much as I love Jaypaw, he's going to get destroyed." Ravenpaw laughed. Robinpaw tried his best not to laugh. Heathercloud was glaring at them for being too loud.

"I'm so sorry she's your mentor. She looks like she'd be a pain in the tail." Robinpaw whispered to his little brother. "Oh you have no idea. She's not exactly supportive." Ravenpaw replied softly. "But I'll survive."

Suddenly, he left out a yawn. "Have you been getting enough sleep? You seem tired." Robinpaw meowed. "We do night training sometimes. I don't get much sleep." Ravenpaw explained. "Really?" Robinpaw asked, surprised. He had noticed his brother missing sometimes at night, but he just assumed that he couldn't sleep very well. _She must be related to Brindlestar. They're both extreme and crazy she cats._

Robinpaw watched as his brother charged at Silverpaw. She gracefully leapt out of the way of his attacks. He charged again, and yet again, Silverpaw jumped out of the way. This time, when he charged again, she jumped onto his back. Jaypaw shook his body furiously, trying to shake her off. Silverpaw hung on tight. She hit him on the head with her paw. Her claws were still sheathed.

"What is she doing?" Ravenpaw whispered. "This is her thing." Robinpaw explained. "She likes messing with her opponents. Silverpaw might not be strong, but she does know how to mess with cats."

Robinpaw smiled as Silverpaw used her speed to run in a circle around Jaypaw. He tried to hit her, but couldn't quite catch her. Suddenly, she stopped running and tripped him with her tail. Jaypaw fell awkwardly on his back. Silverpaw pounced on Jaypaw. "Looks like the hunter caught the jaybird." Silverpaw smiled.

"Very good you two." Reedstrike called to them. Silverpaw let Jaypaw sit up. "Can I try again?" Jaypaw asked. "Of course, Jaypaw. Do either of you boys want to go?" Runningfire smiled.

"I'll go!" Robinpaw volunteered.

"Alright, Silverpaw, you can have a break. Robinpaw and Jaypaw, you're up." Runningfire meowed.

"I can't believe I got beat twice!" Jaypaw exclaimed on the way back to camp. "Don't worry, you'll get better. You just need a bit more practice." Robinpaw encouraged him. "Yeah, yeah. I know." Jaypaw sighed.

"I thought you did well out there." Ravenpaw told him. "But I didn't win." Jaypaw pointed out. "You have to look at the positives, Jaypaw. I wasn't always good, but I learned from my mistakes and look! I'm kicking your tail today." Robinpaw smiled.

"StarClan, you sound like my mentor." Jaypaw moaned. Robinpaw, Ravenpaw, and Silverpaw laughed. "Well, I'm going to have to get more practice in if I want to be in the battle tournament. Hey, Robinpaw, can you help me get ready? You were in it last time! You could help me, right?" Jaypaw exclaimed, perking up.

Robinpaw purred. It felt good to have someone ask for help, especially his little brother. "Sure, we start tomorrow." Robinpaw said, trying to look tall. "Sweet!" Jaypaw meowed excitedly.

Robinpaw slumped down into his bed. He was tired form his long day with his best friends. As he shut his eyes, he realized that tonight was the night he was supposed to meet with Graypaw to talk about the prophecy. _Ugh, I'm so tired though. How am I going to get through this?_

Robinpaw shook the thought away. How could he think like that? The prophecy was clearly important, way more important than his night of sleep. Robinpaw shut his eyes and prepared to go to the StarClan Forest.

Within seconds, he found his glowing spirit floating above his sleeping body. _I'm still amazed by this. I don't think I'll ever get over it._ Robinpaw yawned and shook his pelt out before heading out of camp.

It was a cold night, but it didn't bother the brown and white apprentice. The only light in the forest came from the moon that was still rising into the sky. The moonlight shined through the trees and lit up the rushing water of the Marsh River. Shells and pebbles shined in the moonlight. _It's so pretty. Maybe I should go out at night more often. Maybe I'll even take Silverpaw out here one night._

As Robinpaw took a step into the water, he thought he saw the silhouette of a cat in the distance. He couldn't make out who or what it really was. _Eh, it's probably nothing. I'm just tired_. As Robinpaw took another step, he realized how much easier it was to swim through the river. _This whole thing is just insane._

Robinpaw made it to the other side of the river; BreezeClan territory. He would have to pass through BreezeClan's part of the forest before he made it to StoneClan's territory. _I've never really seen BreezeClan's territory. Sure, I've seen it from the other side of Marsh River, but that's it._

Since there were less trees than MarshClan's territory, it felt strange to Robinpaw. He could see the moon more clearly. _It does have a great view of the stars_. Robinpaw began to run through BreezeClan territory. _I'm not here to sight see. Maybe some other night, but right now I have to meet Graypaw. I don't want to keep her waiting too long._

"Graypaw? Graypaw, where are you?" Robinpaw called out as he passed over StoneClan's border. He looked around for the gray she cat. Oh, _StarClan, don't tell me that she went to MarshClan's camp looking for me._

"Right here!" Robinpaw looked to see Graypaw running towards him. "Hey! Hope I'm not too late. I got caught up with my brothers. Kits, you know." Graypaw explained. "No, no, it's fine." Robinpaw smiled.

"Okay, so let's talk about the prophecy." Graypaw got right to work. _That's good. She's clearly a hard worker. We'll get along great._

"Okay, so Finchbelly, he's the one who told me the prophecy, he gave me a cryptic message and the prophecy." Robinpaw told her. "What did he say?" Graypaw asked curiously. "He said that war was coming, the forest would burn, families would fall, and foundations will shake or something." Robinpaw told her. It had been a while since he had met Finchbelly, so he had a little trouble remembering all of the words.

"Okay, so let's brainstorm. So there's us two," Graypaw meowed. "And the light and dark, whoever they are." Robinpaw finished for her. "Right. So that's all the prophecy says. But if we take what Finchbelly told you into account, there's clearly something big coming." Graypaw said. "Yeah, war apparently. But who's fighting who?" Robinpaw wondered aloud. He shuddered at the thought of war.

"And who are the other two cats?" Graypaw added. "Anyone in your clan fit that description? Light or dark?" Robinpaw asked. Graypaw shook her head. "I thought Eaglepaw could be the bird, but then you turned out to be the bird." She explained. "Well, my mother's name is Nightpool, but I don't think- wait a second, I think you're on to something." Robinpaw meowed.

"I am?" Graypaw asked, confused by what he meant. "We both assumed that the other cats in the prophecy would be from our own clans, right?" Robinpaw began. Graypaw nodded, still confused. "But then we found out that that wasn't the case. We're each from different clans, but still apart of the prophecy." Robinpaw went on.

"I still don't understand what this has to do with anything." Graypaw admitted. "What if the other cats weren't from StoneClan or MarshClan?" Robinpaw explained. Graypaw gasped. "I feel like an idiot! How did I not see that before?" Robinpaw couldn't help but let out a purr.

"So maybe that means one is from BreezeClan and the other is from SnowClan. But how are we supposed to find them? I know we agreed to wait for them to find each other, but I'm not sure anymore." Graypaw told him. "The prophecy doesn't say that we find them. We should let it all happen naturally." Robinpaw insisted.

"But it says that they fight!" "I know, but we have to trust StarClan on this." "I dunno, Robinpaw,"

"Trust me. We'll be okay."

"But we should do something!"

Robinpaw sighed. He knew she was right, they should do something. But what? "Alright, I have an idea." Graypaw told him. "We should probably end soon and meet up again in two nights. When we do, we should look around the other camps and see if we can find anything that might help us find one of the others. Then, we send them to go and find the other cat. So we're not really interfering, we're just giving it a little push." Graypaw told him.

Robinpaw though about it for a moment. It sounded like a good idea. At least, it was the only idea they could really do right now. "Okay, it sounds good to me." Robinpaw agreed. "Great! In two nights, we'll meet again. How about we meet at Star Valley this time? That way you won't have to walk all that way." Graypaw suggested, blushing a little.

Robinpaw could tell that she felt bad for making him walk. He didn't mind, but he was grateful that they finally had a plan. "Okay, that sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Graypaw." Robinpaw yawned. "Goodnight, Robinpaw." Graypaw replied, purring. Robinpaw started to head back to MarshClan. He stopped at one point to look back and she if Graypaw had left before running across the border. Graypaw had already turned around and headed for her camp. _I'm happy that we got something done. It's a good thing that Graypaw is kinda like me. It makes working with her so much easier. Hopefully the others will be as productive as Graypaw._

* * *

 **Not the best chapter I've written, not gonna lie. Especially those two long paragraphs all about the apprentice games. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the latest chapter. This chapter's question: What do you think of the apprentice games? Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, it helps me improve my books for everyone. :)**


	13. Chapter 12 - The Light and Dark

Brightpaw was sleeping peacefully in her nest. She groaned as a few paws jabbed her in the side. Brightpaw opened her eyes to see Tansykit and Shrewkit jumping on top of her. Their sister, Featherkit, was sitting at the entrance with a nervous look on her face.

"What in StarClan are you kits doing in here?" Brightpaw asked, sitting up. "We're bored!" Tansykit wailed. "Can you play with us, Brightpaw? You're always fun!" Shrewkit squeaked.

"You three shouldn't be in here." Brightpaw said gently. "If we get in trouble, it's your fault, Shrewkit!" Featherkit meowed nervously. "Is not!" Shrewkit insisted. "Is too!" Featherkit replied, her white fur starting to bristle.

"Brightpaw, get them to shut up!" Redpaw snapped. He was clearly not pleased about being woken up by the kits. "Sorry!" Brightpaw hissed at the grumpy apprentice."Come on, I'll play moss ball with you guys outside."

"Yay!" Tansykit and Shrewkit cheered, skipping outside. Brightpaw let out a purr of amusement. "Badgerkit, get our moss ball!" Shrewkit called across the clearing. Badgerkit was just coming out of the nursery.

"Shush! You'll wake the whole clan!" Brightpaw scolded. "Sorry." Shrewkit apologized, his pale ginger ears laid back. Badgerkit ran over with the moss ball in his mouth. His fluffy, black and white fur blew in the wind. "Got it!" He said proudly as he dropped the moss ball in front of Brightpaw.

"Is everyone ready?" Brightpaw asked.

"Yup!"

"Yes, Brightpaw!"

"Start aready! I mean, please?"

"I'm so ready!"

Brightpaw laughed. "Alright, here we go! Remember, don't be too loud!" Brightpaw meowed. She hit the moss ball into the air, towards Featherkit and Tansykit. Tansykit, the more outgoing of the two, reached it first. The ginger tabby batted the moss ball and it soared through the air. Badgerkit ran after it and hit it into the air.

Featherkit ran to grab it, but Shrewkit was faster. He jumped onto her back and jumped into the air. He hit it, making his little sister fall down, and it landed by Brightpaw. "Are you okay, Featherkit?" The apprentice asked. "I'm okay." Featherkit replied.

"Shrewkit, be more careful!" Brightpaw meowed. "Sorry, Brightpaw. Sorry, Featherkit." Shrewkit mumbled, shuffling his paws. "It's okay." Featherkit replied, looking down at her tiny paws.

"Brightpaw, can you teach us battling moves now?" Tansykit asked. "But I want to be a medicine cat, Tansykit. We should do something we all can do." Badgerkit told his sister.

"Do you really have to be a medicine cat? What's so great about it when you can be a warrior?" Shrewkit said dryly. "Shrewkit, being a medicine cat is important too." Brightpaw pointed out. "There's no need to judge your brother's decision."

"But we won't be able to hang out as much if he becomes a medicine cat!" Shrewkit sighed. "Shrewkit, I'll make time for you guys. I'm your brother!" Badgerkit told him. Shrewkit smiled a little.

"Now can we learn battle moves?" Tansykit said impatiently. "Yeah, teach us battle moves!" Featherkit joined in. "Alright, alright." Brightpaw purred.

But before she could begin, Swiftfoot called for her. "We're going on a hunting patrol!" The black and white tom said. Heavyheart and Pebblesplash were with him. "But you didn't teach us anything!" Tansykit wailed.

"You know who loves kits?" Brightpaw smirked. "Redpaw! Tell him that I said he's going to teach you some battle moves and don't take no for an answer!" The four kits squealed with excitement as they ran towards the apprentices den. Brightpaw laughed as she ran to join the hunting patrol.

"What happened?" Pebblesplash asked. "I just sent an army of kits after Redpaw." Brightpaw smiled. Brightpaw and Pebblesplash laughed as they heard Redpaw yell from the apprentices den.

"Alright, enough fooling around. Let's go." Heavyheart ordered.

Brightpaw had grown fond of her new warrior friend. Pebblesplash was a rather shy apprentice. When he became a warrior, he had grown more confident with himself. Ever since Brightpaw had impressed Pebblesplash during their test battle, the two had become friends.

Brightpaw's ear twitched as a rain drop hit it. "Is it really going to rain again?" Brightpaw moaned. "Rain is always good for the forest. We should be happy it's not a drought." Heavyheart pointed out.

"Besides, who doesn't love the rain?" Pebblesplash purred. Pebblesplash was one of the few BreezeClan cats who didn't mind water. "We all know you like the rain, Pebblesplash." Swiftfoot meowed. "Well, it's fun!" Pebblesplash smiled.

"You're the only one." Brightpaw told him, flicking him with her tail. "I could always teach you how to swim one day." The gray tom reminded her. "I think I'll pass." Brightpaw purred.

"Sh!" Swiftfoot said. "You'll scare away all of the prey." Suddenly, a rabbit ran out of a hole in the ground and raced across BreezeClan territory. Swiftfoot immediately ran after it. Moments later, he came back to the group with the rabbit dangling from his mouth.

"Good catch!" Heavyheart told him. "Thanks, Heavyheart." Swiftfoot replied politely. "There's a squirrel over there." Pebblesplash told the group. "Heavyheart, do you wanna help me trap it?"

"Of course." Heavyheart meowed.

"Watch what they do, Brightpaw. This will be a great learning experience for you." Swiftfoot said to his apprentice. Brightpaw nodded. Heavyheart stood behind a rock. Pebblesplash chased the squirrel towards the rock. Then, Heavyheart grabbed the squirrel when it passed the rock.

"That was great!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "Thanks! We did do pretty good, didn't we?" Pebblesplash blushed. Brightpaw saw a blackbird fly over her head. It landed on a nearby rock. The patrol was moving on, but Brightpaw was determined to catch something. She walked closer to it before dashing after it. The bird was too fast and flew to another rock.

The patrol hadn't noticed that she was missing. Swiftfoot was too busy giving Pebblesplash advice to realize his apprentice was gone. Brightpaw leapt after it again, but the bird was one step ahead of her. It landed on another rock. Brightpaw chased it until she realized it had landed in the Star Valley.

 _Am I still allowed to catch it? Well, nobody else is around and it did come from BreezeClan's territory._ Brightpaw climbed down the side of the valley slowly. She saw the blackbird still perched on a rock. Brightpaw took a deep breath before leaping out at the bird. She landed right on the bird, killing it with her claws.

But before she could react, Brightpaw was knocked onto the ground. She shook her pelt out to see a black tom standing on the rock with her blackbird. "What was that about?" Brightpaw demanded. "Hey, I'm just trying to feed my clan." The tom told her.

Brightpaw could tell that he was from SnowClan. He had their scent and his ribs were visible. "I caught it, so it's mine! Besides, it came from my territory." Brightpaw told him. "Yeah right. I saw his bird sitting here. I never saw you or the bird come from your territory." The apprentice said dryly.

"I caught it!" Brightpaw's fur began to bristle. "Well I have it now, and that's all that matters!" The black tom snapped. Brightpaw unsheathed her claws and tackled the SnowClan apprentice. They tumbled on the ground, leaving the bird on the rock.

The black tom slashed Brightpaw's muzzle with unsheathed claws. Brightpaw struggled underneath the apprentice. Though he was skinny, the apprentice fought like a warrior. Brightpaw clawed his ear, leaving a small knick in it. The apprentice flinched at the pain, allowing Brightpaw to push him off.

"Okay, now I'm pissed." The apprentice growled. He scratched Brightpaw's face, leaving a deep cut on her cheek. Before Brightpaw could retaliate, the apprentice knocked her down. The SnowClan apprentice attacked with strength, despite his visible ribs. Brightpaw landed underneath one of the Star Rocks. She hit her head on the rock as she got to her feet.

 _I can't let this fleabag beat me!_ Brightpaw shook her pelt out and dashed at the black apprentice. He dodged to the left, yet Brightpaw had an idea. She jumped towards a tree and used it to change her direction. The white BreezeClan apprentice landed on her opponent.

The SnowClan cat bit into Brightpaw's shoulder, making Brightpaw yell. She slashed at his muzzle. His scarlet blood landed on the ground. The apprentice threw Brightpaw off and slowly got to his feet. Then there was a standstill between the two apprentices. They were both tired and breathing heavily. Before either cat could move, there were shouts from both borders.

"Brightpaw! What in StarClan's name are you doing?" Swiftfoot called.

"Don't you dare move, Nightpaw!" A SnowClan warrior yelled.

Brightpaw shrank to the ground as her clanmates and Nightpaw's clanmates joined them. "What is going on here?" Another SnowClan warrior demanded. "Nothing, Addertooth. We were fighting over prey." Nightpaw explained. The black tom glared at Brightpaw.

"Prey that I caught!" Brightpaw snapped at him. "Enough." Swiftfoot said, signaling with his tail for Brightpaw to keep quiet. "Addertooth, Waspstrike, I apologize for any trouble between our apprentices." Swiftfoot told the two SnowClan warriors. "But Brightpaw did catch the blackbird. It belongs to BreezeClan."

Waspstrike hissed at him while unsheathing her claws. "Sheathe your claws, mouse brain! We're not going to start a fight over a blackbird!" Addertooth snapped, cuffing his clanmate on the ear. "That blackbird could feed our clanmates!" Waspstrike spat, sheathing her claws.

"We're leaving." Addertooth snarled. Brightpaw watched as the three SnowClan cats stalked off. Nightpaw glared at her before disappearing behind a bush.

"What were you thinking, Brightpaw?" Swiftfoot demanded. "I caught that blackbird fair and square!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "It wasn't worth starting a fight!" Swiftfoot snapped. "I was just trying to feed my clan!" Brightpaw exclaimed.

Swiftfoot sighed. "We'll discuss this later. But for now, go get yours cuts checked out by Lakebreeze. Then you can go check the elders' for ticks." Swiftfoot told her. "And take your blackbird back to camp with you."

Brightpaw's tail drooped. Pebblesplash gave her a quick lick on the ear. "It's okay. We can hang out later, if you want?" Pebblesplash meowed. "Sure." Brightpaw mumbled, staring at the ground.

"Come on, Pebblesplash. The prey isn't going to catch itself." Heavyheart called to him. "Goodbye." Pebblesplash whispered. The gray and white warrior ran to catch up with the rest of the hunting patrol.

Brightpaw headed to the nursery so she could give the blackbird to the queens. "Hello, Brightpaw." Rosepetal smiled. "Brightpaw's here!" Tansykit exclaimed. "Hush. Don't bother her." Tansykit's mother told her. Tansykit's tail drooped. "Okay." She murmured.

"Is that blackbird for us?" Another queen, Greentail, asked. Brightpaw nodded. "I'm not hungry. You can have it, Greentail." Rosepetal meowed. "Thank you, Rosepetal. You too, Brightpaw." Greentail smiled as Brightpaw dropped the bird in front of the pregnant queen.

"You'd better get those looked at." Applebreeze said, walking into the nursery. "They look pretty deep. You wouldn't want those getting infected." The ginger queen sat down next to Greentail. Applebreeze had moved into the nursery about a quarter moon ago. She wasn't very happy about giving up her warrior duties, but she seemed to enjoy being in the nursery now. She had Greentail, Rosepetal, and Rosepetal's kits to keep her company.

"Yeah, I'm going to go see Lakebreeze right now." Brightpaw told her. "Goodbye." Rosepetal purred. "Thanks for the blackbird, Brightpaw!" Greentail added, swallowing a mouthful of bird. Brightpaw padded to the medicine cat den.

"Hi, Lakebreeze. Hi, Daisypaw." Brightpaw meowed, stepping inside. "Oh, hello Brightpaw. Goodness, what happened to you?" Lakebreeze asked, already making a spot for her to sit.

"Just some annoying SnowClan apprentice. He tried taking my blackbird." Brightpaw explained quickly. "That's why I became a medicine cat apprentice. I have no time to take part in such a foolish fight like that." Daisypaw muttered.

"Okay, Daisypaw. What herbs should we use to treat her cuts?" Lakebreeze quizzed her apprentice. "Goldenrod for her cuts, cobwebs to stop any bleeding, and dock to soothe any scratches." Daisypaw said with her head held high. "Very good. Now let's help Brightpaw with her wounds." Lakebreeze purred.

Brightpaw flinched as Daisypaw applied the goldenrod poultice to one of her cuts. "Don't move." Daisypaw told her. "Sorry." Brightpaw apologized. "You're doing great with your training, Daisypaw."

"Of course I am." Daisypaw grinned. "You've gotten better as a warrior too."

At that moment, Acornpaw entered the den. "Oh, hey, Acornpaw!" Brightpaw purred. "I heard that you were in here. I thought I should come check on you." Acornpaw told her. "Hi, Daisypaw." Acornpaw added politely.

"Don't take too long in here. Brightpaw needs to rest, so hurry up and go." Daisypaw told him as she pressed a dock leaf against one of Brightpaw's scratches. Acornpaw's eyes shined with amusement. "I heard Redpaw and Volepaw were going to train for the apprentice games. They're so cocky." Acornpaw said, sitting down next to Brightpaw and Daisypaw.

"Most apprentices are cocky." Daisypaw told the brown tabby. "They think they're invincible until they get into a real fight. Then they come crying to me for help."

Acornpaw purred with amusement. Brightpaw couldn't help but laugh at her friend. Though Acornpaw seemed to like Daisypaw as a friend, it was clear that Daisypaw didn't return the feelings.

"Well, I have to meet up with my mentor. He wants me to get ready for the games. I'll see you two later." Acornpaw meowed, walking out of the den.

"I hope he doesn't come back here. What a pain in the tail." Daisypaw sighed. Brightpaw flicked Daisypaw with her tail. "Come on, you can be nicer to him." Brightpaw purred. "I'd rather not." Daisypaw scoffed. Brightpaw rolled her eyes. Daisypaw was a very prideful cat. She wasn't always good at making friends. Brightpaw wasn't either, but at least she tried.

"Acornpaw is really nice. He helped me stand up to Redpaw and Volepaw." Brightpaw meowed. "He's foolish for that. I'd never get into a fight with Redpaw or Volepaw. Both of them will make fine warriors." Daisypaw retorted. "So will Acornpaw! And me too!" Brightpaw exclaimed.

"Sure, sure. I know you'll be a good warrior." Daisypaw gave her friend a lick on her undamaged ear. "Just be a little nicer to Acornpaw, okay?" Brightpaw said. Daisypaw hesitated to answer. "For me?" Brightpaw smiled. "Fine." Daisypaw sighed. "Now get some rest."

Brightpaw watched as her ginger friend walked away towards the back of the den. Brightpaw rested her head on her paws. A moment later, Lakebreeze entered with a bird in her mouth. She placed it in front of Brightpaw. "You must be hungry after your fight. Enjoy." Lakebreeze purred. "Thanks." Brightpaw said. She had forgotten how hungry she was. Brightpaw ripped into the bird and within minutes, the bird was completely devoured.

Brightpaw wrapped her tail around her paws. Though the walls kept most of the wind out, some cold air did come in. _Why does leaf bare have to come? It's such a pain in the tail._

Brightpaw wasn't ready to fall asleep yet. She couldn't stop thinking about the SnowClan apprentice and how skinny he was. No cat should have to suffer like that. Not even a fleabag like Nightpaw. _It was pretty impressive how he fought. He looks frail, yet he fought like a lion. What am I saying? He tried to steal my blackbird!_ Brightpaw let out a small yawn. Maybe she was tired after all. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, falling asleep. _I could sleep for several moons._

Brightpaw found herself in the StarClan Forest again. She hadn't been here in a while, not since Brackentail had told her about the prophecy. Brightpaw blushed a little when she realized she had almost forgotten about it. Seconds later, a familiar brown tabby appeared in front of her.

"Hello, Brackentail." Brightpaw meowed politely. She wondered what the StarClan cat wanted. "It's been a while since I've seen you." Brackentail told her. Brightpaw shuffled her paws. "Yeah," Brightpaw murmured. "I guess I've been busy... With stuff."

"Child, in the moons to come, you'll be busier than you've ever been. I'm certain of it." Brackentail said, placing his tail gently on the apprentice's shoulder. Brightpaw shuddered at the thought. _Hopefully being busy isn't a bad thing._

"Why are you here?" Brightpaw asked. "I thought it would do you well to talk about the prophecy." Brackentail replied. "I understand it isn't your first priority right now. Especially since the time for it hasn't come yet."

"When will that time come?" Brightpaw asked. Brightpaw noticed Brackentail's uneasiness. What was troubling him? What did he know that he wasn't telling her? "You'll find out one day." Brackentail finally said.

Brightpaw wasn't satisfied with his answer, but didn't press him about it. "So what's going to happen in the future? What am I supposed to do?" Brightpaw asked. Once again, Brackentail looked unsure. _Don't tell me that all StarClan cats are like this._ Before Brackentail could answer, Brightpaw's fur started to bristle, but she forced herself to stay calm.

"Do you really know what will happen?" Brightpaw meowed, anger was in her voice. "StarClan doesn't know every exact thing, but we are certain evil is arising. It is your fate to figure it out and stop it." Brackentail snapped. "You cats think StarClan should hold your paws every step of the way and tell you everything. You expect us to tell you everything will be alright. But it's not. Bad things happen all the time. And when they do, we get blamed for not stopping the impossible."

"If you wanted to talk about the prophecy, then tell me more about it other than I have to figure out some evil that you don't even know about and stop it! I'm only an apprentice!" Brightpaw hissed. She was shocked that she would snap at her warrior ancestor like that. Brackentail glared at her with big, amber eyes.

"I don't know why you were chosen. Some other cat could have done it better if all you're going to do is not think about it and demand me to tell you more." He said. Brightpaw watches her anger dissolved into sadness.

If even StarClan warriors had no faith in her, how could she have faith in herself? Brightpaw's eyes grew watery. She felt a lump building up in her throat. Brightpaw hadn't even noticed that Brackentail had walked away. _Brackentail is right. I don't know why I was chosen. Any of the other apprentices could have done a better job than me. They're better apprentices than I am._ Brightpaw laid down over her sleeping body. Immediately, her starry body was absorbed by her normal body. She returned to the real world and opened her eyes.

Daisypaw and Lakebreeze were asleep in the back of the den. The moon was high in the sky. Brightpaw laid her head on her front paws and shut her watery eyes. She fell asleep wondering if she really was good enough to be part of a huge prophecy.

* * *

I'm finally back again. Summer is coming, so I'll have more time to write, I promise! Sorry that the chapter wasn't too interesting, it will get better. I hope you did enjoy, and thanks for reading! This chapter's question: Do you have a favorite ship so far?


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